


Gentle Souls

by betabee



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Belle and Rumple are angels, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2016-02-10
Packaged: 2018-04-10 17:51:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 29,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4401548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betabee/pseuds/betabee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From worryinglyinnocent 's prompt on tumblr:<br/>Belle and Gold are both deceased before their time, and since neither met their true love during their lifetime, they are assigned as guardian angels to Henry. Over time, they get to know each other and realise that perhaps, they’re each other’s true loves that they never met in life…</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. After the end

Death, it seemed, was not the end. Her last memories were the screeching of brakes; the crash of a tree hitting the bumpers, sending the car into a frightening spin; a sickening crunch as they came to a stop against the trees on the other side of the road; and her last few heartbeats echoing in her ears, as the screams of her boyfriend died away and the scream of sirens became more distant moment by moment.  
She found herself lying by the side of the road, gently resting in the grass. She picked herself up; she was wearing her favourite outfit of a comfy brown cardigan, a blouse and skirt with tights and her favourite heels; a far cry from the ridiculously tiny dress she had been wearing in the car. Her soft brown ringlets fell around her shoulders.  
She looked around; she was on the roadside near where she had died, but no cars stood there now; the road was deserted but for a petite, smiling woman standing further up the road.  
“Ah, you’re awake!” the woman chirped, making her way over. “I knew it was today, but the authorities didn’t note down the exact time and I forgot to ask Blue. How are you feeling?”  
“Surprisingly good, I think. What’s happened to me? Am I… dead?”  
“Quite correct, dear.” The woman smiled inanely.  
“So what am I doing here? Is there… an afterlife or something?”  
“Yes. Shall we sit down while I explain?” A pair of wrought iron chairs and a matching table appeared on the grass at the woman’s gesture, a tea set with gentle wisps of vapor rising from the full cups resting on the table. The two sat down, and the woman offered her the milk jug.  
“I guess I’d better introduce myself.” The smiling woman said. “My name is Nova, I’m one of the more senior angels in our little department-”  
“Angels?” the interruption came.  
“Yes, angels, Belle.” She replied. “I’m part of the department of guardian angels, whose job is to look after specific humans and guide them towards finding their best selves and their true loves.”  
“Are you my guardian angel?” Belle asked, taking a sip of tea- her favourite Earl Grey, with exactly the right amount of milk and sugar to her taste.  
Nova giggled at this. “No, my dear. The Boss decides who gets which guardian angel- it’s all part of the plan. Your death before your time was part of the plan too, believe it or not.”  
“Err… The Boss?”  
Nova gave her a look.  
“You know- Aslan, Allah, God, Jehovah…”   
“The Boss. Right. So if my death was part of the plan, what am I still doing here? Shouldn’t I be in heaven or hell or purgatory or something?”  
“Well, it’s true that most people move on, as it were. But The Boss chooses certain special people of pure heart to stay and become guardian angels, and you are one such person.” Nova beamed at her as if she had just won the jackpot.  
Belle felt confused. “But why me?”  
“Well, it tends to happen to people who aren’t quite done with the world yet. If you’ve never met your true love, your soul will have trouble moving on until you’re sure they’ve moved on too. Hence the alarming number of ghosts about- don’t worry about them too much. The Boss will protect you.”  
“Okay…” Belle took another sip of tea as she pondered. “I assume that my boyfriend moved on?”  
Nova nodded with a sad smile. “Gavin Knight had nothing holding his soul here strongly. He’s at peace now. I take it you’re not too surprised.”  
She gave a wry smile. “Well, no. We weren’t that close. He was far too superficial, and I only really had him as a boyfriend to keep my dad happy.” Her smile fell, and transitioned to worry. “Is my father okay? Oh no… I don’t want this to hurt him. He lost my mother, it’ll break him to lose me too!” A small sob left her lips.  
A white lace hankie was presented under her nose as her sobs continued. “Your father will be fine, dear. Your mother Colette has been watching over the both of you as a guardian angel for some time now- she has been and will continue to look after your father as long as he lives.”  
Another small hiccup left her as her sobs quieted. “My mother? She’s a guardian angel too?”  
“She’s been watching over your father and you ever since she died. Colette is one of the best of us, but she’s been busy with your father over the last few days. Anniversaries are always hard on the grieving.”  
“Anniversaries?! How long has it been since I died?” Belle exclaimed with alarm.  
“A year and a day.” Nova smiled sadly. “That’s how long it takes us to ‘wake up’ as it were. Blue then assigns someone to talk the new guardian angel through the ropes before they go find their first assignment. Which is why I’m here talking to you!” she gestured with a flourish. “Do you have any questions?”  
Belle looked across at her in mild stunned amazement, before her expression changed to a thoughtful pondering. She stirred her tea absentmindedly as Nova started to drink hers.  
“So, what am I meant to do as a guardian angel? How can I help the person I’m assigned to if I’m basically a ghost?”  
“Well,” and Nova put her tea down, steepling her fingers, “you’re going to be spending your time following your target, learning about their life and improving it for their happiness however you think best. But don’t worry- you will be able to interact with the world in a limited way to influence events and help them. It may take some experimentation to work out what you can do, and Blue may reward you more abilities if you do well-”   
“Blue?”  
“Our manager, as it were. She oversees the department and takes orders from The Boss. Lovely lady, a stickler for the rules at times, but if you get on her good side she will help you fight the good fight to the end!”  
“Right.” Belle forced a smile; Nova was being very informative, but too chatty for her taste. “Listen, is there, like, a handbook for all this? And how do I find my target?” Belle stood up from her tea. “I don’t know about you, but I’d kind of like to get started.” She smiled at Nova, a more genuine smile as Nova got up, vanished the tea, and produced a beautifully bound book out of thin air.  
“This should let you know everything you need to know!” She chirped.  
“How do I do the making things out of thin air? That must be so cool!” Belle laughed.  
Nova shrugged in reply. “It’s part of my ability; makes this whole jig a lot more comfortable. Now, shall I set up your link?” She stepped over to Belle after handing her the book and, with golden light flowing from her fingers, poked her gently in the stomach.  
It took Belle a few blinks after the light faded to see again properly, but once her vision cleared she saw a translucent golden cord flowing from her middle in the direction of town.  
Nova giggled at her expression of surprise. “It’s called the lifeline. It will always lead you to the life you are meant to guard.”  
“It’s beautiful,” Belle said, waving her hand through it; it didn’t move but flowed about gently at her movement. “Do you have one of these too?”  
“Yep, but we can’t see each other’s lifelines. They also let you hear any prayers or distress your person gives or goes through, which can be really helpful if you use it right.” Nova smiled. “Speaking of which, my life is calling. Must run. Good luck!” Nova darted forward, pecked her on the cheek, then spun around and vanished in a cloud of smoke as pink as her dress.  
“Well, I guess I’ve got work to do.” Belle muttered to herself. She tucked the handbook under her arm, gave a last cursory look around, and then started up the road, following the golden thread. “I’m so glad heels hurt less in the afterlife…” she muttered as she walked away from the road where she had died.


	2. Begin again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we are introduced to the enigmatic Mr Gold...

The nights were the hardest.  
Mr Gold had known this for several years, ever since he began guarding Henry Mills. Sure, it was better these days- the perpetual crying he had witnessed when Regina first adopted Henry had rung in his ears for months after he was sleeping through the night.  
But thankfully, this particular night was over. His ten-year-old charge stirred briefly at the first beeps of the alarm clock, but only dragged himself out of bed when his adoptive mother called up the stairs.   
“Henry! Breakfast is ready!”  
The boy sighed, and staggered over to the sticker-covered wardrobe to pull on his school uniform, before trudging down the stairs, his incorporeal guardian a step or two behind him.  
Breakfast was eaten in silence; Henry quietly munched on a bowl of cornflakes (too plain to hold any interest, but ‘healthy’) while Regina ate her bran flakes with one hand, browsing papers with the other. Mr Gold watched them in equal silence; then, with a flick, set the lifeline to send him what Henry was hearing, and set off for the pawn shop for the day.  
Mr Gold considered himself very lucky, among the angels, to have been gifted the ability to act among the mortals as one of them. He had been given a shop, and a house, and considerable influence within the town when the alias was set up.   
There were drawbacks, however. He could not contact anyone he had known when he was alive; he could not leave the town boundaries corporeally; he could not stay mortal for more than half of each day. But he took advantage of what he had- he could interact with the people of the town, he could learn about the people around his charge more directly, and most importantly, he could talk to Henry.  
However, he couldn’t break his cover as the local landlord and pawnbroker. Most of his corporeal days were spent in the pawnshop (while Henry was at school; he was safe there) or walking about town, talking to the inhabitants, collecting rent, influencing the people here and there, and making deals.  
None of the mortal inhabitants of Storybrooke would have suspected Mr Gold of being an angel, which suited him just fine.  
He arrived in the pawn shop just as Henry arrived at school; it was somehow quite soothing to use the lifeline to listen in to the hustle and bustle of the school and lessons and childish things as he worked in the shop, reminding him of days long past. The pawn shop did not get many visitors- the occasional tourist passing through, the occasional desperate soul needing money or something more illegal. He tried to help the people who came to him at the end of their tethers, he really did- a favor here and there, an extended loan, a suggestion that maybe keeping the baby wasn’t the best idea for financial security to a certain Ashley Boyd, but who was he to interfere with matters? He could only intervene directly if they prayed for help- he had to rely on deals otherwise.  
Regina was a visitor that day, marching into the shop a couple of hours after he opened the front door.  
“Gold! Why is there still opposition to the new housing development bill? I thought the whole town council was on board, but noo, Albert Spencer is still against it. I wonder why?”  
He gave her his best patronising look. The one used to deride the town’s lack of common sense and forethought.  
“Well, your majesty, maybe he realised the land being developed would mean the building of a new secondary school at the end of his street. He’s got a troubled enough relationship with his own son; why would he want another few hundred teenagers passing his front lawn every day?” He smirked.  
She gave a groan of frustration and almost grabbed at his shoulders across the counter. “You really don’t know when to stop interfering, do you?” With that, she turned and stalked out the shop, clearly to track down a certain Mr Spencer.  
The housing development wouldn’t have been good for the town, Gold was sure of it- the budget barely had enough resources to fund the school and hospital to the capacity required. Then there was the indefinitely closed library, the many complaints about the state of the forest surrounding the town, the number of potholes… no wonder Henry’s mother was run off her feet and stressed, which filtered down to her son’s wellbeing.  
The rest of the day was quiet; eventually, 4 o’clock rolled around, and the bell jingled as Henry Mills entered with his rucksack and a shorted out Nintendo in his hands.  
“Hello Mr Gold!” He was surprisingly cheery today.  
“Afternoon, Henry. Which of your classmates do I need to repair a console for this time?”  
The two moved to the back room. It was no secret among the pupils of Storybrooke Elementary that Henry Mills was the only kid brave enough to talk to the fearsome Mr Gold, and that Mr Gold could repair almost anything. Henry made a tidy profit in sweets by bringing various broken items to be repaired to the pawnshop; his classmates hence avoided trouble with their parents for breaking their toys, and Mr Gold got to spend valuable time talking to his charge as he mended whatever he’d brought in that day.  
“Ava. She dropped it getting in a fight with her brother, again.” Henry rolled his eyes, causing Mr Gold to let out a low chuckle.  
“Those two are always at it, by the sounds of it. Do you want to make some tea, and I’ll see what I can do.” Mr Gold sat down, and started to turn the device over in his hands, looking for damage as Henry made his way to the table with the kettle on in the corner. “So how was your day other than that, Henry?”  
“It was okay.” He replied with a shrug, filling the kettle with water in the small sink. “Only okay, was it? What did you get up to? Any interesting new projects?”  
Henry thought for a moment as he set the kettle off and put the teabags in their usual cups (an elegant blue and white cup for Mr Gold; a Bug’s Life cup for Henry).  
“Well, Miss Blanchard wants us to look into our family trees, to draw them out. She gave us a chart to fill in and everything.”  
“That sounds interesting,” Mr Gold said as he unscrewed the Nintendo’s cover. “Have you filled any of it in yet?”  
He made an uncertain noise in reply as he poured the milk and spooned sugar into the cups (one for Mr Gold, three for Henry). “I’m not quite sure how to fill it in, to be honest.” He said over his shoulder as he poured the water in the cups. “My mother never kept it secret that I’m adopted, but I’m not sure which family to fill in. The only family I know on the adopted side is my mum, but what about my birth family?”  
Mr Gold pretended to ponder this for a few moments as Henry brought the steaming cups of tea over, replacing the console’s cracked screen as he did so. He took a sip of tea (perfect, as always; Henry’s tea-making skills had improved significantly since they began their acquaintance) and then replied; “I remember when I helped your mother work out the details of your adoption. From what I can recall, it’s not a closed adoption- you could feasibly ask your mother for details on your birth family. She probably had a look over the paperwork about it during the process. I merely helped with the legalities, but there’s no harm in asking her.”  
“Sounds good. But what if she doesn’t want to talk about it with me? She’s been a bit touchy about it when I’ve asked previously.” Henry took a gulp of tea as he watched Mr Gold put the Nintendo back together, carefully screwing the case back on and cleaning it with a soft cloth.  
“There’s nothing stopping you doing your own research- you’re getting to an age where you could ask the adoption agency for the specifics. Or your mother might still have the paperwork somewhere.”  
“She does file everything,” Henry mused. “I guess I’ll have to look around- it should be somewhere…”  
Their conversation turned to less crucial topics; Mr Gold gave Henry a few tips on his latest maths homework, and inquiries about the music box he had mended a few days ago were met with a nod and a commendation of his repair work (as well as a leftover piece of toffee passed on from the owner of said music box).  
Henry finished up his tea a few minutes later and left, the mended console safely tucked into his rucksack. Mr Gold sipped his now-lukewarm tea as he pondered his next steps.  
His suggestion to the schoolteacher about topics to cover had worked- Henry was now interested in learning more about his birth mother, and this furthered his plans nicely. The next steps depended entirely on Henry’s actions- Mr Gold could only encourage the boy’s interest so much. Hopefully he’d take the initiative and go searching further.  
For now, there was little more to do than keep waiting and watching over Henry. He closed up the shop quickly, and, abandoning his corporeal form, floated after his lifeline to the Mayor’s house at a gentle pace.  
That evening was quite quiet- Henry didn’t get the chance to ask Regina about the adoption, since she was busy going over the housing development paperwork again, and having an angry phone call with Albert Spencer. The boy ate his dinner quietly, and before long, the house was quiet again, Henry tucked into bed, and Regina watching the telly downstairs.  
Mr Gold settled into his usual chair across the room from the sleeping boy, ready for another quiet night. He usually dozed through these hours, the nearest an angel could get to true sleep.  
A sudden movement out of the corner of his eye startled him out of his half-doze a few hours later. The door remained closed, but a woman stumbled through. He shot up as she walked across the room to the bed, sat down by Henry’s side, placed a book on the bedside table, and stroked his hair with a gentle, “Hello.”  
He marched forward and grabbed her arm, spinning her towards him, catching a glimpse of blue moonlit eyes before he barked, “Who on earth are you and what are you doing with my charge?”


	3. Not all rainbows and sunbeams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Belle gets a sudden crash-course in dealing with Mr Gold.   
> Or the one where someone forgot to send a memo about who Belle was guarding. Oh dear...

“Who on earth are you and what are you doing with my charge?”  
Belle was wrenched around suddenly, away from the sleeping boy she had been led to. She looked up in confusion at the middle-aged man she hadn’t spotted on her way through the door, his face full of a confused fury.  
“Wait… you can see me?!” she asked. “I thought I was incorporeal…”  
“Yes, and so am I, dearie. Now tell me what you’re doing here!” the man almost shouted in her face. She flinched back at the sound.  
“I- I was led here. By my lifeline. That’s what they’re meant to do, right? Lead you to the person you’re meant to guard? M- Mine led me here.” She stammered out, watching as the man’s face changed from anger to bewilderment.  
“What?! That can’t be right…” he muttered. “Henry is my charge, Blue would have told me if anything had changed. Are you sure?”  
“Well, yes!” She replied, gesturing towards the boy. “It leads right to him!”  
She was struck with a sudden idea, and reached for the book she had been carrying, opening it and looking through for a contents page.  
She heard the man move to look over her shoulder at the book, sitting by her side on the bed.  
“They gave you a handbook?”  
“Nova gave me one, yes. Is there a section on lifelines?”  
“Of course Nova would, she’d give her trainees the moon and the sun if they asked nicely,” he muttered, and lifted the pages to find the index. “I didn’t get a handbook when I started and I managed just fine…”  
“Well I asked for a handbook because she was getting on my nerves and for future reference.” she snapped back, batting his hand away. “There’s never any harm in getting the rules in writing before you start, is there?”  
He looked at her with a curious expression. “Have we met before?”  
Belle looked up from her perusing, and examined the man’s face curiously. He was old, wrinkles covering his face, but still handsome, with dark eyes and unusually long hair. His suit was out of place for a child’s bedroom, and a cane rested at his side on the bed.  
“I don’t believe so,” she said carefully, “but I think- correct me if I’m wrong- you’re Mr Gold? I may have heard about you in passing.”  
“And what exactly have you heard about me, dearie?” he asked with a slight snarl.  
“You were- are, probably- the owner of my father’s shop, I believe. I heard about you a great deal from him, and he never let me help in the shop on rent days, but I always thought that his trouble with you was more his fault than yours. I wish he’d have let me help keep the finances in order, but he was always a bit stubborn like that.”  
“Your father…?”  
“Moe French.” She muttered, turning back to flipping through the handbook.  
“Ah! You must be Belle, then.” He said, watching her with renewed interest at knowing her identity. “I agree with you about your father’s financial skills. The shop could do so much better, but there’s only so many extensions I can give him. He… he hasn’t been coping that well since your…”  
“Death, yeah, I can imagine. He almost fell to pieces after mum died… hang on, I’ve found it!”  
They both peered at the page the book was opened to, titled, “Lifelines; how to keep yourself in the loop”. Belle scanned the page, then slowly flipped through the chapter before a passage leapt out at her. She pointed at it, and read,  
“As with all angelic abilities, you can share your vision of your lifeline with another angel by linking your hands and willing it. This effect is only temporary, as with all sharing, and will fade when you let go. Don’t be afraid to ask your fellow angels for help and advice if you’re unsure of what your lifeline is showing you.”  
Belle turned to look at Mr Gold, closing the book gently. “Erm… shall I try and show you mine then?” she asked, holding a hand out.  
He looked surprised, but then took his hand off his cane, and gently took her outstretched fingers. His hand was soft, the fingers gently calloused from writing, the nails roughly trimmed. She held his hand for a minute or so, thinking almost fiercely, lifeline. Share my lifeline. His expression shifted slowly to a mild impatience.  
“You haven’t done this before, have you?”  
“Well, nope. I’ve only been an angel for, what…” she thought for a moment, and glanced at the clock. “4, 5 hours maybe?” She reread the passage. “It’s not particularly clear on what to do.”  
Mr Gold sighed, and took her hand again. “I’ll show you how it’s done. Once you’re holding hands, focus your mind on the warmth inside you. I’ve heard you can feel it in a few areas, mine tends to be at the pit of my stomach.”  
She closed her eyes and furrowed her brow in concentration, and after a few seconds, a small heat blossomed behind her tongue. “… Okay? What next?”  
“Okay. That warmth, that represents your mental manifestation of your abilities. To pass it on to another person, you imagine it moving to the other person through your hands. Can you do that?”  
Belle set her mind to it, picturing the ball of warmth at her throat moving down her arm and into her hand. She jerked in surprise when a wave of warmth shot down her arm at an alarming speed, her fingertips tingling with pins and needles as it passed out her hand. Her throat still felt warm, but a more normal body warmth than the gentle heat there had been a few seconds before. Her eyes snapped open and she stared at her companion, who was now turned to look towards the sleeping boy behind them, a look of mild surprise on his face.  
“What is it? Did I do it right?” she asked in an almost whisper as the seconds dragged on. He turned back to her. “You should see this yourself,” was the only warning she got before a different warmth shot up her arm and landed in her stomach. Turning on the bed , she watched two gold ribbons materialise in the air; one between her and the boy (the one she recognised from the last four hours walking, a slight sliver shine to it) and one between the boy and Mr Gold (which looked more like several threads wound around each other, a rich golden brown colour with straw coloured highlights winding through).  
“… so… we’re both his guardians?” she ventured after a few seconds, letting his hand go and watching the other lifeline dissolve from her sight.  
“It appears so.” He replied almost reluctantly.   
“Has that ever happened before?”  
“I’ve never heard of it happening before.” He grumbled. “Does Blue think I’m not doing my job properly or something? I’ve looked after him for ten whole years without incident!” He started pacing the room, muttering the whole way.  
“Well, is there someone you can ask about it?” Belle asked. “Someone must know the reasoning behind it, unless it happens at random.”  
He put a hand to his lips in thought, then gesticulated an idea. “There is someone I could talk to. Blue is our local administrator, as it were- she often acts on The Boss’ behalf in the local area. She’s the type to meddle like this- I’ll go get some answers out of her.” He strode back towards her as he made his decision. “Can you keep an eye on the boy while I’m out? I’m not sure how long it’ll take to sort out this mess.”  
“I’m his guardian angel- of course I’ll look after him.” She replied with a bite in her voice, slightly annoyed at his insinuation. “What exactly are you planning on asking them, anyway?”  
“To get you your own charge, dearie. Henry is my charge, and I won’t let you interfere in the plans for him, understand?” He pointed a finger in her face threateningly, then strode out the room before she could reply. She sighed, then turned back to watch Henry, still in the land of peaceful slumber all the while. How long would the silvery thread she now watched still lead to this innocent boy, she wondered? Would she need to move on even before she started her new life here?


	4. Fire in the heavens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mr Gold tries to get to the bottom of the mystery revolving around Ms French.  
> ...and doesn't entirely succeed.

The angry stomp remained in Mr Gold’s step for much of the walk down to the nunnery. It was just like Blue to spring these sorts of things on him without warning, and he was quite ready to shout down the place. The stomp faded from his step after a few streets, however. He was journeying through the dawn-lit streets incorporeally, which, while less conspicuous to mortals at this time of the morning, did not allow for the use of cars, bicycles, or anything faster than his own two feet.  
He didn’t feel much pain from his shattered ankle these days, but the cane and the limp remained, slowing his walk down considerably. It would be possible, he knew, to do away with the injury and the cane completely in incorporeal form, since a lot of it was caused by how he imagined himself to appear. However, the two felt so familiar, the cane almost a mental as well as a physical crutch that he couldn’t imagine himself otherwise. He continued his fast-ish limp down the road towards the nunnery, walking through the cars of the early-morning commuters without slowing.  
The sun had been up for a couple of hours by the time he reached the nunnery on the other side of town. He strode through to the main church, sitting himself down on a bench near the front to wait quietly. He admired the patterns the stained glass of the east window painted across the plain blue carpet, a rainbow of bright colours painted across the floor before him.  
It wasn’t long before one of the less corporeal residents spotted him. A translucent elderly nun in the usual uniform seen around the nunnery tapped him gently on the shoulder. “Blue will see you now, Mr Gold.” She whispered in a raspy voice in his ear, before continuing on towards the altar rail to kneel and pray for a while.   
He slowly stood up from the pew, before making his way to the old wooden door leading to the vestry. He knocked twice, then pulled the door by the brass knob towards him. There was a knack- a half-twist before pulling, knocking in the exact right place- but he’d opened this door many times before in this way.  
Instead of opening into the vestry, the incorporeal part of door creaked open, leading to a well-lit, open office. The amount of white was slightly blinding, and various pot-plants were scattered across the room, and several people bustled back and forth across the room with paperwork and tablets and messages. He swiftly made his way across the room to the imposing desk dominating the other end of the room.  
The woman seated at the desk didn’t look up immediately; she was busy scribbling on one of many bits of paper strewn across the desk, signing this and marking that one with slashes of red ink. Eventually she pushed a strand of brown hair back from her face before turning her piercing eyes on Mr Gold.  
“I thought I’d see you here today. What is it?”   
Mr Gold took a moment to collect his thoughts, resting both hands on the cane in front of him before frankly addressing his boss. “Blue, there haven’t been any complaints on my guardianship of Henry, have there?”  
She pushed her half-moon glasses up her nose. “Not as far as I’m aware.”  
“Can you check? No warnings, no reports?”   
She took a few moments to tap away at her computer; he gazed out the window while she did so. The view out the office window was not storybrooke, but somewhere beyond. Only those who had moved on could see out there properly, the angels like himself seeing various fields or forests in its place. Today he looked out across a fjord, pine trees scattered across the opposite bank and clouds rolling across the mountaintops.  
“Nope. No complaints. Your record is as clean as it always is.” Her voice broke into his musings. He turned back to her.  
“Well, can you explain whose idea it was to assign another angel to my boy, then?” His voice had a dangerous edge to it. “I can’t go by for three WEEKS without one of you lot interfering in my job!” His voice rose to a shout; the office went quiet for a moment, and he could feel the stares of the other workers heated on his back.  
A crack of thunder from outside disrupted his angry tirade where the would have continued, and he turned to watch out the window, where black clouds now rolled across the mountains. The Boss wasn’t particularly tolerant of outbursts at his employees, and Mr Gold quickly dropped his cane which he had been about to hit the desk with.  
His eyes trekked back to Blue’s face; but at the astonished look there, his anger immediately dissipated.  
“What?!” Blue said. “I have no recollection of that- let me check the records.” She turned to her computer with determination. “Do you have a name for this other angel?”  
“Belle French.” He replied, walking around the desk to watch her type furiously, searching the files.  
They watched as the search results came in. There was Belle French’s file, and in the box detailing her charge was clearly labeled ‘Henry Mills’.   
“That can’t be right…” Blue muttered, opening another search window and looking for the boy’s file instead.  
The search leading to Henry’s file was somewhat more successful; in the ‘Guardians’ box on his file, both their names were listed. However, there was also a note attached to his file. Blue moused over and opened it, and the pair silently read together:  
‘A second guardian, Belle French, has been assigned to work with Mr Gold to help the boy find happiness, to aid the people of Storybrooke, and for the cause of True Love. The pair can achieve a much better outcome together than either could alone. No reassignments, Blue! -The Boss’  
Mr Gold looked at Blue with an equal look of surprise and wonderment that was on her face.  
“A direct order from The Boss…?” He inquired.  
“… It appears so.” She replied in puzzlement. “I haven’t seen many of those, let me tell you!”  
He retreated to the other side of the desk. “So… I’ve got to work with her, then?”  
“If it’s a direct order from The Boss, then yes.” Came the serene reply. “Remember, he can see how all this will pan out. It’s probably a part of the Plan, so you’re better off listening to what he said.”  
“Okay…” He made to leave, but she called him back for a second. “Gold?”  
“Yes?”  
“Don’t be too hard on the poor girl. She’s a lot newer at this than you, and you’ll need her help. Take some time to show her the ropes?”  
He sighed. “I’ll do my best, Blue, but I’m not promising anything. I’m not the easiest person to get on with.”   
“Well, don’t we know it!” She dismissed him with a wave of a hand and a chuckle, and he turned to walk back out the office. His entire walk to the pawnshop was filled with distracted pondering on why he and his boy would need more help- what events coming up would lead to his needing help? Was some great disaster about to unfold? Was this a warning about his previous plans for the boy?  
He remained slightly distracted the entire day, making at least three mistakes when filling in the rent books and dropping his favourite teacup when a customer came in at lunchtime.


	5. Tales as old as time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Belle learns about her abilities on the job, and a certain important book appears...

Belle felt shaken for a good while after Mr Gold stormed out. Would he be able to mess up the first day of her new job so easily? She wasn’t sure, but eventually concluded to carry on with starting to look after the boy sleeping beside her- Henry, Mr Gold had called him. A strong name. He couldn’t be more than ten or eleven.

She picked up her book again and turned to the beginning, quickly getting lost in the text.

The alarm on the bedside table startled her out of her focus an hour later. She sat there slightly stunned, but then moved like a lightning bolt when the bed shifted under her, the duvet moving _through_ her incorporeal form like a wave of icy cold. Her move across the room was mostly motivated by not having Henry walk through her, and she watched as he dragged himself out of bed, opening the door and wandering down the stairs sleepily in his batman pajamas.

Belle followed Henry as he made his way downstairs to a very modern, open plan kitchen, every cupboard and almost every surface in tasteful monochrome or shining steel. A woman was sat there reading the Storybrooke _Daily Mirror_ ; it took her a moment, but when the newspaper was lowered for a muttered, “Good morning, Henry.” She recognized the mayor Regina Mills.

Everyone in town knew Regina’s face; she had been elected Mayor for the last 5 years since her mother Cora died, and this was widely considered a Good Thing. Regina might be overbearing at times, and might hold grudges a little too long, but her mother’s reign as Mayor had been almost dictatorial. The fact that her father had never let Belle into the shop when there was even a possibility of Cora stopping by was very telling; the fact he made no such measures for Regina was very telling about how much the current Mayor took after her father rather than her mother.

Of course, there was talk about the town of nepotism, with the Mills family effectively in power for as long as Belle remembered; however, no one could argue that they were reasonably effective at making sure the town council got a good budget from the government; that the hospital and school stayed open, and that things continued as they always had. The town could improve, but no-one about town quite had the guts to go up against either mother or daughter.

No-one, that is, except Mr Gold.

The revelation that Mr Gold wasn’t quite alive either was an unexpected surprise, she admitted to herself. She had heard of him from her father and from other people about town who had to deal with him- tales of no compromise, of people thrown out of their rented homes on technicalities. But she had also heard whispered talk of those same people being found cheaper apartments around town shortly after. Her father had been deathly scared of the owner of his shop and wouldn’t let Belle anywhere near Game of Thorns on rent days; thus, she had never met the man in person before her death. True, she had walked past his shop pretty regularly on her way to school, or to gaze longingly in the window of the perpetually-closed library- but she had never set foot inside.

As Henry made his way around the kitchen to put together a bowl of cereal and milk, she made a decision not to base her treatment of Mr Gold off of what she had heard around town. Sure, he had always been painted as someone to avoid in her mind, but he was a guardian angel- surely that meant he wasn’t quite the person the town knew him to be.

She watched as Henry ate his breakfast; the boy chattered away to Regina about the Nintendo he was returning to a girl called Ava later that day, and how he was looking forward to storytime that afternoon with Miss Blanchard; his mother almost had no reaction to any of his chattering, keeping her gaze steady on her newspaper, except for a small snort of derision at the mention of Miss Blanchard. Belle wasn’t sure what Mary Margaret had done to deserve a snort- they had been friends in high school a few years earlier, before Mary Margaret left for a teacher training course in Boston. This clearly required investigation.

What else had she missed in the year she had been dead? Was Ruby still at the diner? How was Ashley doing? Was her father still there?

The thoughts about her old friends continued to swirl around her mind as she followed Henry as he got ready and was driven to school with barely a word from his mother. Belle kept her book tucked under her arm, and was happy that she could sit in the car with Henry and still stay in the car as it moved. She had already summarized from her reading of the book that she would attract unwanted attention if she tried to operate the car herself (for all angels could interact with the environment around them) but was uncertain if she could be an incorporeal passenger in a moving car.

Thankfully, she stayed in the car the entire journey to the school. Hopping out the car just before Henry, she waited while he said a brief goodbye, grabbed his rucksack, and wandered inside with the other children streaming in from the car park.

The lessons she sat in were remarkably dull; she tried to amuse herself as Henry sat in class by trying to identify the children, or by wandering the corridor to see if she could recognize any of the teachers from when she had been there (there were none; she wasn’t surprised), but by the classes after lunch she was sat at the back of the class reading her handbook, a few feet from Henry’s desk.

Belle was most of the way through chapter three (a detailed list of possible abilities angels might get other than the basics of interacting with the world) when Mary Margaret got up from her seat at the front of the class, walking determinedly to the back. The children had got up too, and she followed Henry to the corner of the room they were all congregating in, full of beanbags in a circle and bookshelves along the edges. Mary Margaret was in the process of picking out a book, humming gently as the class settled themselves.

She couldn’t quite see the books that Mary Margaret was looking at, and debated for a second before leaning through her incorporeally to see the shelf. The cold shock quickly melted to a gentle warmth, and she could feel the back of her throat heat up like earlier in the morning. As she looked at the books, a sudden whispering entered her head;

_“What book shall I read them today? I can’t read them_ The Gruffalo _again… they’ll remember_ The lion, the witch and the wardrobe _’s plot from two weeks ago, and the book’s too long… I could try more Narnia, but it gets a bit dark further on…”_

That must be Mary Margaret’s surface thoughts, Belle summarized. Some angels could hear thoughts, but it was very draining ability and relied on incorporeal contact with the person and a certain level of concentration.

Belle looked at the shelf with Mary Margaret, her eyes alighting on a book of fairytales, a beautiful hardback bound in dark brown leather and with the words ‘Once Upon a Time’ embossed in silver along the spine.

“How about that one, Mary Margaret?” Belle muttered. “They always like fairy tales.”

The warmth in her throat leapt out, flaring to a burning heat on her tongue for a second; Mary Margaret jerked with a slight surprise, but then Belle heard her thoughts once again;

“ _Okay. Fairy tales it is. Henry always likes the fairy tale days._ ”

She watched with a slight astonishment as the teacher pulled the book she had spotted off the shelf, turning quickly and making her way to the armchair among the beanbags, adjusting the cushion on the seat.

“Now, children, we’re going to have a fairy tale for our story today. Which fairy tale would you like me to read?”

Several small hands shot up at Mary Margaret’s words, and Belle watched as she accepted the suggestion from a girl called Paige that they read ‘Rapunzel’ today. As the teacher’s voice gently wound its way through the room, Belle returned to her book abandoned on Henry’s desk and turned a few pages back in chapter three to an entry she had spotted just before Henry went to lunch to reread:

 

_Suggestion_

_Often alongside surface telepathy of corporeal beings, some angels also possess the ability to introduce thoughts into their minds while reading thoughts. These ‘suggestions’, as we shall term them, manifest as a small voice in the corporeal being’s head, and can be used to influence the person’s actions. More success with these suggestions occurs when the action you suggest is within the parameters of what actions the person would consider acceptable to take in the normal course of life, so temper what you suggest accordingly for maximum effect. Suggestion is innate and occurs whenever you speak aloud while using surface telepathy, so use it carefully!_

 

The entry was shorter than others, but, she gathered, didn’t require quite as much instruction as some others (there were pages dedicated to teleportation). She surfaced from her reading to hear the snap as Mary Margaret closed the fairy tale book and tell the children to pack their bags for hometime. Her charge made his way back to the desk Belle was perched on, packing his things away as the rest of the class filed out.

The angel had a sudden brainwave. She knew Henry liked the fairy tale book from Mary Margaret’s thoughts, but it didn’t look like there were many books in his bedroom. Maybe he could borrow a book or two?

She slipped across the emptying classroom quickly to where the teacher was standing by the desk, the warmth blossoming in her throat again as she walked into her.

“Why not lend Henry the book of fairy tales? He could do with something to read after school.” Belle said quietly. The same flare of heat occurred again, and Mary Margaret paused in tidying her desk.

“Henry? Can you stay a second?” She asked, and the boy paused in his packing up.

“Sure. What is it, miss?” He picked up his full but open bag and made his way to the desk as Mary Margaret picked up the fairy tale book from it’s perch on the table’s corner.

“I was wondering… would you like to borrow this?” She waved with the book in her hand towards him. “I know you enjoy when we read these at story time, but you could read more of them in your own time. Would you like that?”

His face lit up like a christmas tree, and he took the proffered book with enthusiasm. “I’d love to, Miss! I’ll take good care of it! I’m gonna enjoy reading this!” He went to shove it in his bag, but his face fell slightly.

“What is it?” Mary Margaret asked.

“My… My mum thinks I’m getting too old to read fairy tales. I don’t want to get into trouble…”

Mary smiled, and patted his shoulder reassuringly. “You’re never too old to read fairy tales, Henry. Let me deal with your mother. You just enjoy reading them, don’t worry!”

He smiled back, and closed his backpack with the book inside. Belle wooped with happiness, but had to interrupt her victory dance to follow Henry out of the door and away from the school, down the street to-

_-Mr Gold’s pawn shop?!_


	6. Mortal fumbling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A visit to the pawn shop, a difficult conversation and a chipped cup...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For future reference, thoughts or someone speaking telepathically will be indicated by italics. Enjoy!

It had been a very _long_ day for Gold. His mind hadn’t ceased its earlier buzzing from the visit to the nunnery, so it was almost a relief when the bell gave its customary jingle and it was the slight figure of his charge entering. He’d forgotten to set his lifeline to listening mode, which was just as well- he had made enough blunders in the shop already without the extra distraction of listening to the hustle and bustle of the school.

He did a double take when the shadowy figure of Belle walked through the shop door after Henry. He couldn’t see properly while corporeal- no-one could. The incorporeal appeared invisible to all but a few, but shadowy and translucent to people with psychic abilities, cats, and corporeal angels. He had seen angels before while corporeal, but Belle’s entrance still gave him pause, causing him to hesitate before returning Henry’s friendly “Hello!” while he was walking through to the back room. He didn’t follow Henry immediately; he instead turned to his fellow angel, who was looking at him curiously.

“Can you see me while you’re corporeal?” She asked, the sound making him flinch slightly and glance sharply at the back room where Henry was. Mr Gold’s hearing was not affected by being corporeal; they were lucky that Henry wasn’t gifted psychically. He nodded, then mouthed in an almost whisper, “Yes, and hear you, but _he_ can hear me. Shh!” He raised a finger to his lips in a shhing gesture, to which she gave a nod, before he grabbed his cane and made his way to the back room.

Henry was already busy getting the tea ready- that boy was a blessing ever since he’d been taught by Mr Gold to make a proper cup. His rucksack sat on the chair where Henry normally sat, the binding of a large book poking out the top, and a gameboy in several pieces lay on the table in front of Mr Gold’s usual seat. He strolled over and sifted through the pieces with a finger, watching out of the corner of an eye as Belle entered and looked around the back room with curiosity, her book tucked under her arm again.

“I assume this is Michael’s? How many times have I had to repair this now? Three, four?” Mr Gold addressed Henry with a chuckle, but a slightly strained, cautious edge remained in his voice.

“Yeah, he dropped it at breaktime. He was fighting with John again, those two are always at each other’s throats.” Henry brought over the steaming cups of tea in the usual mugs and plopped himself down after moving his rucksack to the floor. Gold sat carefully into his chair, and Belle wandered over, watching over his shoulder as he started using a small screwdriver and some glue to put the device back together.

“So, how did your conversation with Blue go?” Her voice in his ear startled him, and Henry noticed him jump. The boy looked at him questioningly.

“Sorry- there was a draft. Can you go make sure the back door is closed properly?” Henry walked over to the door, and while his back was turned, Gold glared at his incorporeal companion.

“Why are you trying to talk to me? You know I can’t answer properly!” he mouthed at her as Henry tested the door.   
“It’s okay. Henry can’t hear me, and I can use telepathy, if that’s okay with you…” she trailed off with uncertainty in her voice. He didn’t have time to respond, though, as Henry made his way back to the table. He quickly busied himself with continuing to mend the console, as if he wasn’t trying to converse with an invisible woman currently perched on the desk next to his cup of tea.

“So, Henry, how was school?” He asked as he worked.

“It was good- we did more work on the family tree project, but I’ve still got a lot of research to do for that. Storytime was good, though- Miss Blanchard lent me my favourite book!” He gestured to his rucksack as he drank his tea from his usual cup.

Mr Gold made to pick up his teacup, and his hand went through her leg. He quickly organised his thoughts into a burst and hoped she was paying attention.

_Yes, telepathy is okay as long as you warn me first. One question at a time, give me a few moments to formulate an answer and I’ll send it to you like this when it’s convenient. Capiche?_

She startled violently at his hand through her knee; her arm shot backwards wildly, and he saw her glow slightly. Her hand knocked against his blue-and-white teacup; it fell with an awful crack and tea spilled across the table.

“Sugar!” Mr Gold said, his hand having continued far enough on its original path for it to feasible have been knocked over by him. Henry moved his own mug and the homework he had got out a few seconds earlier, before tentatively picking up the teacup, holding it to the light.

“I think… I think it’s chipped.” The tentative voices of both Belle and Henry almost harmonised as they looked at the cup with expressions of dismay on their faces. He took his cup back, and there was indeed a triangular wedge abruptly missing from its otherwise smooth porcelain.

“It’s just a cup. I’ve got plenty like it, I wouldn’t be too worried. The rest in the set weren’t sellable anyway.” And he meant it- the other five cups with the same pattern lined up in the cupboard were all tea-stained and chipped underneath- this had been the best one of the set, and he’d been using it ever since Blue had given him the shop. Henry’s face softened in relief, and he went to get a cloth to clear up the split tea.

His incorporeal companion wasn’t so easily calmed.

“But it was my fault, Mr Gold! I messed up on my first day here… Am I even cut out for this guardian angel business? He could have caught on that I was here!” She wrung her hands, but he gave her another look and held a hand out discretely. It took her a few moments, but eventually she noticed and slipped a hand through his.

_I mean it. Everyone slips up, and it was just a cup. It was my fault really for failing to warn you of my answering beforehand._ He gave her a gentler look, checking she understood. She seemed to be calmer, and nodded her understanding; he removed his hand from midair just as Henry came back, and returned to his work.

The next half hour consisted of a strange sort of conversation; Gold focus was split three ways, between talking to Belle (her hand moving from in his arm to not as she waited for telepathic answers), talking to Henry (he worked steadily on his homework after having dried off the table, consulting him on answers to maths questions) and fixing the gameboy (Michael had smashed it up pretty badly this time…).

“So what happened with Blue when you went to visit her?” Belle asked again.

_We checked in the database, and it seems both you and I have been assigned to watch Henry. Direct orders from The Boss, reasons of ‘True Love’ apparently._ He mentally added quotation marks, which seemed to get through, despite his continued steady focus on the machine in front of him. He heard a quiet chuckle from her.

“I take it that that wasn’t the answer you were looking for.”

_Not really. No offence, but I’ve been managing Henry perfectly well for the last ten years without assistance; I don’t need your help. But, it’s direct orders, so I guess we’re stuck with each other, dearie._

“I guess. You’re not going to be a grumpy git the whole time, are you?”

_Whatever gave you that impression?_ His lips twitched into a smirk, thankfully not noticed by the boy sitting opposite, engrossed in sums. _So, I take it you had an eventful day?_

“It depends on how you define eventful. I got quite a bit of reading done during Henry’s classes, and I figured out how to use a couple of my abilities.”

_I take it that’s how you figured out the telepathy? What else did you get?_

“I think I’ve got suggestion as well- I tried it out on Mary Margaret and she gave Henry a book, so…”

_That could come in handy later…_ he mused mentally to himself, finishing slotting the console back together. “Here you go, Henry. Good as new.”

The boy looked up, two questions from the bottom of the page, but happily put his pencil down, reaching to take the gameboy and pack his bags.

“Great! I’ll get it back to Michael tomorrow. Thanks!”

Henry quickly put his things away, and left the shop with a cheery “Bye!”. Belle made to follow, but Mr Gold stopped her with a firm hand on her elbow.

“You don’t need to follow him around the whole time, you know.” He said, after receiving a glare for his interruption of her stride. “Besides, we need to talk about how we’re going to handle this.”

“This?”

“This,” he gestured between them, “This looking after Henry. He really doesn’t need both of us following him around all day every day. We can be more effective in looking after the citizens of Storybrooke if we take turns.”

She considered for a moment. “Okay… but what do you expect me to do all day while I’m not keeping an eye on Henry?”

“I don’t know- explore the town, meet the other angels around town, get a handle on your abilities, send people flowers- it’s up to you really. I’ll be minding the shop most days, so if you ever need help you know where to find me.” He moved around the shop, closing up and turning off the lights before becoming as incorporeal as she was. They made their way outside, wandering towards the mayor’s house after their lifelines as the sun set in the distance down the road.

“How do you know if Henry needs you, though? How can I tell if I need to get to him if things go wrong?” she asked as they walked.

“The lifeline will tell you. If he’s in mortal danger, it will glow red. If you concentrate you can set it so you can hear whatever Henry hears, which can be useful when you want to keep an eye on things but have other things to do. He’s a grown boy, he doesn’t need us hovering 24/7. There should be more information than I can provide in that there book of yours.” He gestured to the book still tucked under her arm, which she brought out to look at.

“I guess. Is there any way I can get a bag or something to carry this in? It’s been a bit… awkward carrying it around today.” She grimaced with a chuckle.

He gave her a look. “You’ve still got some reading to do, I see.”

“Give me a break!” she gestured in exasperation. “I’ve only been on this side of the mortal coil for a day!”

He sighed. “You can choose what you wear, dearie. Concentrate like for your other abilities- you should be able to add a backpack.”

She stopped walking, and screwed her eyes shut in concentration. He turned slightly a few paces ahead to watch, and after a few seconds, a blue and brown rucksack shimmered into view on her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open, and she examined it with delight.

“I did it!” she exclaimed, and put the book in quickly before skipping over to him. They resumed their walk into the sunset side by side.

“So… how many other angels are in Storybrooke?” she chirped after a few minutes of silent walking.

“Hmm… there’s Nova, who you’ve already met. Colette spends most of her time looking after your father, he’s had it pretty bad since… you know.”

“My death?”

“Yes. There’s Jefferson, too, but he’s a bit… unusual. I’d advise caution if you ever meet him, he’s not had an easy time of it. I think that’s all other than the ones at the nunnery, but they’re admins- they don’t look after anyone specific. If you ever need help or have any questions for the higher-ups, the nunnery is where you need to go. Ask for Blue, she’s the manager there.”

She considered this in silence for a few minutes walk.

“It’s sad that there’s so few of us. It’s a big town.”

He shrugged. “We can’t guard people directly if they don’t ask for help or unless someone asks on their behalf. The Boss is very big on Free Will- we’re not allowed to interfere too much.”

Belle frowned. “That’s sad. I just hope we can do a good job protecting Henry.”

“We’ll try our best, dear. It’s all we can do.” He murmured, and the rest of the walk passed in gentle silence.


	7. Remembrance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle takes a trip down memory lane to see someone she hasn't encountered for years...

Belle had a lot to think over that evening and overnight. She had parted ways with Gold at the mayor’s house at his assurances that he would be able to look after Henry that evening, and to meet him again at the pawn shop the next day. She started to wander back to town, meandering for at least two streets before stopping to will her feet into a comfy pair of trainers instead of the heels she had been wearing for a good day or so now. Her feet thanked her profusely, and she continued townwards.  
She eventually found herself at her favourite bench in the town park; it was lit by a gentle white light from a nearby streetlight, and faced the road. She could watch as people walked by, heading to Grannys, the Rabbit hole, or simply home. The sky was a beautiful navy now, lit by the first few stars of the evening and a crescent moon. Belle sat down, willed away the bag with a slight bit more ease than with which it had appeared (it was getting easier and easier to feel the warmth in her throat and propel it around to do her bidding) and opened her book once more.  
She was determined to get through the contents as fast as possible; she wanted to be properly prepared for her turn to look after Henry when it came around later tomorrow, and the easiest way to do that would be to properly know how to use her abilities. It might have been easier, she mused, to ask Gold for more instruction, but she had always felt more comfortable learning from her books.  
She didn’t imagine Gold would be the best instructor, anyway. True, he had been pretty informative so far with how to tap into her abilities, but he could be a bit… abrasive. Harsh. She was desperately trying to find more complimentary adjectives for the man, but he seemed to be deliberately stubborn and uncommunicative at times.  
Inside his thoughts, though…  
He had seemed to have quite ordered thoughts, in comparison to Mary Margaret’s fluttering train of thought. But under the surface of those deliberate and precise communications, something seemed… closed off. Hidden. It obviously wasn’t anything to do with why she was Henry’s guardian as well- he seemed too annoyed by that for it to be any of his doing- but there was definitely something he wasn’t telling her.  
She wasn’t that surprised, but maybe some investigation would be a good idea before she got too involved in whatever Mr Gold was up to. Asking around the other angels would be a good start, but her reading came first. With a sigh, she found the page she had left off at and continued her study.  
It wasn’t until the sun started to creep over the horizon that Belle finally looked up from the book, closing it with a definite snap. The contents of the book would merit a reread later, but she had been engrossed by the subject matter with the usual zeal she gained when a subject caught her attention. With a gentle flourish, she produced a new incorporeal rucksack and shoved the book inside.  
She figured it was about five or six in the morning; she still had several hours free before she would visit the pawn shop again to take over from Mr Gold in looking after Henry. Maybe it was time to go visit some of the other angels about town. She would leave the nunnery for another day, she decided, and she didn’t fancy visiting Nova today. She was… a bit too bubbly for today. That left Jefferson and her mother.   
Her heart clenched at the thought of seeing her mother again. She hadn’t seen her since she was 8, when her year-long stint of breast cancer finally killed her. Belle had vague memories of hospitals and a chemical-y biting smell when she had hugged the much thinner than normal woman. Memories of her father holding back his sob in a dusty black suit, a bunch of lilies in one hand and her small hand in the other as they stood in a graveyard on an unreasonably sunny day. She hadn’t quite understood at the time what had happened- she had asked her father several times where her mum had gone, and the answers had varied from gentle explanations of her having ‘gone to a better place’ and ‘she’s in heaven now, sweetie’ to days where her question started her father crying again, sobs wracking his body as she tried to calm him. She eventually stopped asking.  
What had her mother been up to all these years? How had she changed from the woman Belle remembered? There was no time like the present to find out. She stood from the bench and made her way across town to her old home, where her father would probably be just getting up.  
It was only a short walk- her father lived in a small apartment above his flower shop, Game of Thorns, both owned by Mr Gold and rented on a monthly basis. She hoped her father was doing okay keeping up with the rent for both- Gold had said something about extensions, which didn’t exactly fill her with hope.  
The shop looked okay, though. It was closed up at the moment, but as she drifted through the door there was the usual stacks of flowers around the room, hydrangeas and roses and carnations and lilies in pots artfully arranged around. She made her way through the back and up the stairs to the apartment, the morning sunlight streaming down the stairwell as she climbed. It was almost as if she had never left- the shop looked the same as ever, but she knew her father was good at putting on a front for the customers.  
Belle drifted through the door to the apartment gently. The living room was empty of life, but was definitely in a much worse state than before. The carpet was stained, the bin needed emptying three weeks ago, the sink was full of dishes and the number of empty cans on the side was disturbing. Clearly her father hadn’t kicked the drink habit he had acquired over the last three years.  
“Hello?” She tentatively called out, knowing that her father wouldn’t hear, but if her mother was here, she would. It was a few seconds before anything happened, and she almost thought that she was wrong about coming here to find her, but then there was a sudden rush of air from the corridor. She was almost barrelled over; warm arms and a mass of curls the same colour as those on her head and a smell of roses she remembered from her childhood overwhelmed her, and she relaxed into the hug after a second with remembered ease.   
She wasn’t sure when she started crying, or when her mother started crying, but it was a good few minutes before she found herself on her knees still clutching the warm body of her mother, drying her eyes on her mother’s shoulder, a floral patterned shirt she had never seen before except in pictures. She drew back to look at Colette’s face, watching as her mother’s piercing blue eyes softened with such love and hope that she almost started sobbing again.  
“H- Hi mum…” Belle said, her voice a cracked whisper. Her mother smiled, a brilliant shining smile that she hadn’t seen for years.  
“Hello, my love.” Colette replied. “I wondered when I’d been seeing you around here.”  
She smiled back at Colette. “I came as soon as I had the time to spare. It’s been so long…” she buried her head in her mother’s shoulder, and the two of them hugged for a few more minutes, before being interrupted by her father wandering into the room in an old pair of pajamas. He made his way over to the fridge and rooted around the kitchen for a bowl of cereal, and the two of them broke apart to sit on chairs in the living room and watch her father get ready for the day.  
“How have you and dad been for the last year or so, then?” She settled into her usual armchair across from the sofa, while her mother lounged next to her father, obliviously eating cereal and watching the news.  
“Well, he’s a lot better than he was a few months ago, my love. The shop went quite far downhill after you died- we nearly had to close it, but I talked with Gold and arranged a few ‘miraculous’ extensions. The shop’s back to full operations now- I persuaded him to hire your friend Ashley to man the tills, which has definitely helped the both of them, but he’s been throwing himself into his work, to be honest. You, my dear, were a big help to his mental health when you were here.” She gave a sad smile, reaching over to pat her daughter’s hand. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more there for the two of you.”  
“Mum, it’s not your fault!” Belle grasped Colette’s hand tighter when she made to draw away. “There’s no need to blame yourself. And I’m probably more of a contributor to my dad’s mental health these days.”  
Colette chuckled. “You didn’t see how much he hid from you when you were younger, my love. He was strong for your sake for so long- it wasn’t until you were getting ready to go to college that he stopped, and those were feelings he’d repressed for so long. I’d spent nearly a decade trying to get him to let it out, and then he misdirected it into drowning his sorrows.” She sighed, and held her head in her hands. “It’s a miracle I’ve kept your father alive and healthy for this long, you know. At least he’s seeing Archie, now.”  
“That’s good news. Is he taking anything for his depression?” Colette gave Belle a look. “Oh, don’t look at me like that, mum- I know what it looks like. I looked it up in the library and had a chat with Archie when he started drinking. It’s why I didn’t go away to college.”   
Her mother gave her a sharp look of disbelief. “I wondered why you changed your mind so quickly. You could have gone to Harvard, my love! You were so enthusiastic about it!” She gave an exasperated sigh. “Belle, my love, you were always too kind for your own good. Your father would have adjusted and found his feet eventually, if you had gone. What happened to going on adventures and being a hero? What happened to my little adventurer? You were going stir-crazy staying here before you died!” Her mother’s face had a slightly angry edge to it.  
“I couldn’t leave him, mum! I didn’t know you were there looking after him, did I? And dad didn’t either- we only had each other…”  
Her mother got up, walked over and hugged her daughter as she started sobbing again. “I know, my love. I know. You and I are so similar, Belle. We’re loyal to the point of hurting ourselves, we love so deeply it can hurt so much…”  
It was another few minutes until Belle’s sobs quietened, and she released her mother gently. Colette stroked her face with tender care. “Now’s not the time to rehash all that went wrong while we were alive, my love. How about you tell me what you’ve been up to the last few days? Did Nova give you all the information you need? Have you met your charge yet?” Belle gave her mother a hesitant smile.  
“Yeah, Nova was helpful. I’m looking after this boy called Henry, he’s a sweet kid…”  
“Henry?” Her mother looked quizzical. “I thought he was Mr Gold’s charge, unless there’s another Henry in town…”  
“Nope.” She smiled wryly. “We are sharing a charge, apparently. Boss’ orders.”  
Belle’s father chose then to walk out the door, heading down to the shop, muttering about geraniums. The pair got up and followed him downstairs in silent agreement.  
“I’ve never heard of people sharing charges before, but I guess the Boss knows what he’s doing.” Her mother answered with a smile. “How are you finding working with him?”  
“It’s not too bad, actually. He’s been teaching me a few of the ropes. It’s weird- everyone makes him out to be a monster around town, but he’s not so bad really. Though I guess all I’ve known of him before is my father’s exaggerated stories, so…”  
Colette chuckled. “Your father does like to tell a story or two, just as much as you and I like listening to them. I’ve generally got the impression that he doesn’t get a lot of company- he’s been looking after that boy for nigh-on ten years and hardly ever talks to anyone about it. Maybe having you around will help, I don’t know. He’s a bit of a closed book at the best of times…”  
“I guess I’ll see what happens, really. I can’t force him to open up, mum.”  
“You’d be surprised at what you can do, my love.” Her mother smiled at her, before they were interrupted by the first customer of the day.  
Belle stayed in Game of Thorns for most of the day, chatting with her mother about anything and everything, from childhood anecdotes she hadn’t recalled for years (“remember when you wanted us to go for a picnic in the library when you were five?”) to talking about her disastrous love life when she had been alive (“To be honest, Belle, I never liked Gavin. He was way too superficial for you.” “Mum, I didn’t have a lot of choices in this town to begin with. Dad was bugging me to get a boyfriend, and Keith wouldn’t leave me alone. You know that Gavin’s asexual, but Jessica wouldn’t leave him alone. We were together out of necessity, really.” “Oh. That explains a lot…”). It wasn’t until she glanced at the clock after several hours that she realised it was time to go back to the pawn shop.  
“I have to go now, mum. I need to take over on watching Henry.” She gave her mum a sad smile. “Can I come by and visit again?”  
Colette’s smile could have outshone the sun, and she gave her daughter another hug. “My love, you’re always welcome! We will always be here for you when you need us, don’t you worry.”  
She hugged her mother back tightly, before saying her goodbyes and setting out down the road. It had been good to see her mother again- she looked so vibrant now, the mother of her best, most cherished memories. She was looking forward to seeing her again, but she now had a job to do. Belle set off to the pawn shop with determination in her step and a smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot is coming. The next chapter is going to be very plotty. Be warned.


	8. Out of the dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Belle learns some important details about Henry's history...

The day without his new ‘assistant’ had been, blessedly, quiet. There was very little to tell Belle when she arrived in the shop that afternoon other than that Henry had had a quiet night, had read a few stories from his new book, and had spent the evening doing some research for his project on his family.  
He didn’t mention that this research had included sneaking into his mother’s office after she was asleep to find his adoption papers and other information on his birth mother, which had (miraculously) included an address. The plan was falling into place nicely, he thought as he headed out from the shop, leaving Belle to follow Henry home.  
Gold hadn’t given much thought to what he would do with his evening- he couldn’t be corporeal, since he would need to rest that ability for tomorrow, but he could pay his old friend Jefferson a visit. It was a long way to his house in the forest, but worth the walk when he had time to spare.  
He had walked most of the way there when a sudden wrench in his gut stopped him in his tracks. Turning, he saw the gold line leading back to town turn a sickly orange colour. Something was wrong with Henry- not mortal danger, but possibly sickness or emotional distress. Maybe the plan was progressing faster than he thought- either way, he should go back and investigate.  
He concentrated on the warmth in his diaphragm, picturing it in the hallway of the mayor’s house, before twisting on the spot. The world vanished in a swirl of colour, the forested road disappearing and being replaced with a cold marble floor and winding staircases. He staggered, using his cane to steady himself. Sounds of shouting came from the kitchen, but he took a moment to right himself first- teleportation always made him feel out of joint, even after a good 15 years of experience.  
Gold could start to make out the words being shouted by both mother and son as he made his way into the kitchen. He rounded the corner to see Belle standing with an arm in Regina’s shoulder, concentrating fiercely as the argument raged on:  
“You’re too old to be reading that nonsense, Henry! You spend far too much time inside and not enough time outside for a boy your age!”  
“I spend plenty of time outside, mum! I spend all my lunchtimes talking to the other kids; it’s not my fault if you won’t let me go around other kid’s houses after school or anything! You’re just mad because Mary Margaret gave it to me!”  
“That woman has no right to be interfering like that!”  
“She’s my teacher!! She’s meant to be! What have you got against her anyway?!”  
Belle was frowning; it seemed her efforts to stop Regina’s tirade were having little effect.  
“It’s not about what I think of her; she’s too young to be looking after people your age!”  
“So? Who would you prefer teaching us? Mr Gold?”  
“Oh, don’t get me started on that bastard!!”  
“He’s not a monster, mum, why can’t you see that?! And neither is Miss Blanchard!”  
“How would you know whether Gold is a fucking monster or not?!”  
“Language, mum!! He’s been more help to me than you ever have! At least he accepts me for who I am! He actually helped me with my homework and my family tree project, which you’ve never wanted to help with!”  
“You know I’m too busy to help you with that sort of thing, Henry. You’re old enough that you should be doing it on your own by now!”  
“Mr Gold isn’t too busy to help me, and he owns half the town!”  
“You’ve no business spending time with that man, Henry. I forbid you from spending any more time with him!”  
“Stop trying to control my life, mum!”  
Regina recoiled as if struck; the pause in the argument gave Henry time to race out the room and up the stairs. Belle withdrew her arm and almost collapsed on the floor. He made to reach out a hand to stop her falling, but she steadied herself on the table for a moment.  
“What did you think you were doing, dearie? You’re much too inexperienced to be able to stop an argument of that magnitude.”  
“I figured…” she looked at him suddenly, a frown on her face. “Wait… you don’t seem that surprised by this.”  
He looked at her calmly, waiting as the cogs churned in her mind.  
Her frown deepened. “So… is this a normal thing? Because that doesn’t seem like it should be normal- they shouldn’t be having raging arguments like that!”  
She continued her voicing of her thoughts, her face getting angrier and angrier as she spoke.  
“If this is a regular occurrence you should have intervened by now!! Henry’s not going to be happy if he’s regularly getting into arguments over inconsequential things with his own mother!!”  
“Oh, I have been intervening, dearie.” His words had a bite to them as he felt his own anger rising. She clearly wasn’t going to be happy with the plan, and he was so close…  
She pointed a finger at him accusingly, her voice almost at a shout. “So you’ve been making things worse between them?! How on earth is that going to help-” Her tirade was stopped by a rush of movement out of the corner of his eye, and he quickly turned to watch Henry dash down the hallway, rucksack on his back. His heart leapt with excitement. It looks like the plan’s working!!  
Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to stop the gleeful smirk from twitching onto his lips fast enough to escape Belle’s notice. She glared at him, then grabbed his arm, hauling him after their charge, his cane swinging wildly in his other hand as he staggered after her down the hall and out the front door.  
“Slow down, dearie!! We’re not going to lose him, you know. We could even wait until he stops and then tele…” he trailed off as she turned on him with fire in her eyes.  
“No! I’ve had enough of you not telling me what’s going on today!! We are following him to make sure he doesn’t get hurt and you are going to explain yourself on the way!! Is that understood?!”  
She turned back and continued after Henry before he could think of a reply to her outburst (and there really wasn’t one), pulling him after her with inhuman strength down the road towards town.

****

It was a good half an hour before the three of them were seated on the bus to Boston; Henry fishing a few notes out of his pocket (That lad had prepared well, Mr Gold thought approvingly) and boarding with a disbelieving glance from the driver, his incorporeal guardians a couple of steps behind him (Belle had released Mr Gold after a few road’s walk when it was clear he was going to keep following, their journey passing in silence). They sat in the alarmingly coloured seats, Belle and Gold in the row behind Henry, and as the bus rattled forward she turned to him with an expectant look. He gave a sigh of exaspiration, and then began explaining;  
“I’ve known that Regina wasn’t cut out for motherhood particularly for years. If you remember her mother Cora, then you’ll know that for years Regina has been controlled and manipulated, her feelings cast aside and trampled in the dirt.”  
Belle gave a reassuring nod at his pause, the frown still ghosted over her face as he continued.  
“Cora was alive until Henry was 5 years old; she was the one who prompted Regina to adopt a child, but Regina only agreed so that Cora would stop trying to marry her off. Cora was quite influential in the raising of her grandchild, though I did manage to eventually manipulate her into spending less time with the two of them a couple of years before her death.”  
“I remember reading about that; Dad thought your affair was quite scandalous…”  
He grimaced at the memories. “It wasn’t one of my finer moments; I thought that if I distracted her she would spend less time manipulating her daughter into her twisted view of a ‘perfect mother’, but she made my skin crawl. We barely went on two dates, but she milked the association afterwards for all it was worth…” He heard a sympathetic wince from his companion before he continued.  
“Suffice to say, even after Cora died her influence was a menace. The Boss had to issue a restraint on her spirit so she couldn’t stick around Storybrooke after she died, thankfully, but Regina wasn’t left with any good support systems to help her raise Henry. I’ve tried my best to get him some better influences in his life- I did some deals to ensure Mary Margaret was able to become a teacher at his school, and she’s one of the kindest people in town.”  
Belle chuckled at this. “I remember Mary Margaret from school- she was friends with almost everyone! We used to call her ‘Snow White’ because she was so kind and friendly and a goody-two-shoes if ever you saw one!”  
He gave a nod; her assessment of the young woman was accurate from the times he’d encountered her.  
“Well, she’s been in charge of his class for a good 5 years, which has had a massive positive influence, I think. Henry has gone far from the shy five-year-old he was when he started, and has the support to stand up to his mother, an opportunity Regina, it seems, never got. He even approached me last year to start mending toys for cash as a side-project, which is the reason for his regular visits to my shop.”  
She had a look of enlightenment for a moment, shining across her face. “Ah! I was wondering about that. How did he get to keep visiting? It’s clear Regina doesn’t approve.”  
“She doesn’t. But we have a deal.”  
He received a frown for his troubles. “You and your deals… is there anyone in town you haven’t made a deal with?”  
He gave a snort of laughter. “Probably not. ‘Tis a town of desperate souls, this one, and there’s only so much I can do for the townsfolk without breaking my cover, which would lose me my corporeal abilities quite quickly. So I make deals, which, thanks to The Boss, tends to work out.”  
“So what deal do you have with Regina to let you see Henry?”  
“Oh, they usual of not disclosing some of her mother’s less savory business practices to one Sidney Glass.”  
“I think that’s called blackmail rather than a deal…”  
“And that about sums up my corporeal relationship with Regina, dearie.” He replied with a chuckle.  
She gave a giggle as well; it sounded like one of a small set of bells somewhere in the back of his shop, high but with a sweet melodic tone.  
He wasn’t given much time to ponder this thought, however, before the frown returned to her face.  
“Okay, so I get that Regina hasn’t been having the best time looking after Henry. But- Really? Running away? That’s your answer?”  
“Oh, not running away, dearie.” He said with a smirk, feeling an unusual giddiness at having someone to share his brilliant plan with for once.  
“We have a very specific destination in mind.”  
“Oh? And where’s that then?”  
“Boston.”


	9. Into the light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we learn the full story of Gold's previous life as an angel...

Belle sat in silence for a while as the bus rumbled on, thinking over what she had just heard from Gold.  
The influence of Cora certainly explained a lot of what she had seen the past few days between the boy and his mother- Cora had been the other person her father had kept her away from whenever she came to the shop, and Gold’s tale only confirmed this.  
It had been 5 years, though. And even if Regina was not the perfect mother, Henry had a good support group. Why did he need to run away, then? What would they find in Boston that was so important?  
It took her a few minutes to formulate her argument in her head, and a few more to break the silence once more.  
“I don’t understand what’s so important that we’re going to find in Boston, to be honest. This is only going to strain his relationship with his mother further.”  
He gave her a look. “Henry does have another mother, you know. That’s who we’re going to find.”  
“We have no idea what she’s going to be like, Gold! She gave him up for adoption, probably for a good reason, and there’s no guarantee she’s going to be a better mother than Regina!”  
He turned to her with fire in his eyes. “That’s not the point!! He needs to find out about his birth family, Belle!! This is the only way we’re going to do that!!”  
She stared into his eyes. There was a flicker of fear there as he spoke; as if he were about to lose something important.  
“Really? Is that really what he needs, or is it what you need?” she replied in a calm voice.  
He looked like he was about to strangle her, a wild look in his eye; she kept her stare steady, and after a few seconds, the fire left his eyes; he gave a sigh of exasperation and turned away, mumbling something into the window.  
“Sorry, what did you say?” she touched his shoulder gently, and he turned back with slumped shoulders.  
“He’s my grandson.”  
She raised her eyebrows in surprise for a moment, but then looked between them. There was a certain similarity to them- the deep brown eyes, the hair, the determined and stubborn nature- that suggested they could be related.  
“Okay, then. On his mothers or his father’s side?”  
He gave a little sigh, then launched into an explanation.  
“When I died, my son, Neal, was barely 13, and I was initially assigned as his guardian angel. He lived with my ex-wife, his mother Milah, and her new boyfriend Killian until he was about 16. She wasn’t a particularly good mother; she was negligent, even before I died.”  
“How did you die?” Belle asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.  
Gold raised an eyebrow, replying with a curt, “I fell down the stairs. It’s a lot easier to do with a dodgy ankle.” Before continuing with his explanation.  
“At 16, he left Milah; we travelled around the country for a while, and he became a thief to survive. It wasn’t ever what I’d intended for my son; if only I hadn’t died…”  
He trailed off for a few seconds, lost in memories.  
“I wasn’t able to become corporeal at that point- I only gained that ability later- but I had your abilities, of reading thoughts and suggesting to people, which kept my boy out of prison… mostly. We continued like this for a few years, never stopping anywhere long enough to attract attention from the police or from Killian’s colleagues. I didn’t learn until after we ran away that he was part of a major crime syndicate, and Neal stole a lot of money from him to fund our escape, which was our level of luck at that point…”  
“That must have been awful…” she said in a small voice, her heart panging with sympathy. “How did he meet Henry’s mother?”  
“Well, she tried to steal the car he was sleeping in, actually. It was quite amusing, to be honest.” A small smile crossed his face for a moment as he continued. “Emma was a fellow thief and runaway, a product of the foster system. They worked together for a year or two, staying away from the authorities and Killian’s people. They were a couple for a good six months before everything went wrong.”  
She kept silent, listening with interest as the bus rattled along the highway.  
“We were somewhere in Ohio, trying to get to Canada- the authorities still wanted Neal for some watches we stole a while back, so the plan was for Emma to sell them so we’d have the money to cross the border and start a new life out of reach of the police and Killian’s people. I, naturally, went with Emma, because she would need my help if things went wrong, and I could easily make my way back to Neal by way of my lifeline. We’d learned Emma was pregnant several weeks back, so it was vital she get through this alive so their child- my grandson- could have a safe life.”  
“So what happened?”  
“My best guess is that Neal was found by the authorities. The lifeline pulsed red just as we were making the sale, but before I could go to him, I felt this- jerking- in my stomach. And before I knew it, the lifeline led to Emma instead. I can only presume that Neal prayed for their protection. Emma was arrested shortly afterwards- I’m not sure who tipped them off- and was stuck in prison for 11 months. She thought Neal tipped her off, and didn’t want to raise a child alone, especially in prison- she was only 18- so she gave Henry up, and I went with Henry, and I lost any chance of discovering where my son was.”  
There were tears dripping down his face as his voice got quieter and quieter, breaking here and there as he finished speaking. She wasn’t quite sure what to do as he spoke, but when he finished, her resolve strengthened, and she reached her arms out, gently enclosing his body and drawing his shaking shoulders against her. He stiffened at her first touch, but relaxed enough to let her hold him close as he sobbed quietly.  
After a few moments of quiet, she asked, “So this is about more than finding Henry’s mother- it’s about finding out what happened to your son.”  
He nodded, a shower of tears falling from his face onto her arm. “It was almost a miracle when I found that Regina had the details on Henry’s birth mother- for once, it was a good thing that she was nosy- but by that point, I couldn’t leave Henry there to go looking for her or for Neal.”  
“Because of Cora.”  
“Right. And even when Cora died, I didn’t want to leave him with Regina. Without me nearby. So I decided that, when he was old enough, we’d find her together.”  
She gave his shoulder a pat as he eased himself back upright in his seat. She examined his face closely- he seemed a lot calmer now, as if a weight was off his shoulders, but there remained a nervous edge in his eyes. She felt relieved that he’d confided in her- it didn’t seem like something he’d had the chance to do often. A pang of sympathy went through her at the thought.  
“Well, we’d better make sure this first meeting goes well, then.” She said, pushing a smile onto her face.  
He gave her a slightly astonished look. “Wait- you’re okay with this? With going along with this? With trying to find Henry’s parents?”  
“Well, I’ve seen Regina’s parenting style. She needs a catalyst to change that, and this may be it. If all goes well, Henry has someone else in his support network and we get clues as to what happened to your son. If not, then at least you know you tried, and Regina may change her behavior after having her son run away. I’d have thought The Boss wouldn’t be the type to neglect your happiness either. Henry does need you, I think, but you need him too.”  
“I hope you’re right, Belle.” He said quietly, and she almost missed it as the bus rattled to a stop. They quickly followed Henry out of the bus, and onto the streets of Boston, ready to find a mother not seen in a good 10 years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anonymousnerdgirl on tumblr prompted me this a while back:
> 
> Could Neal be guardian angel!Gold’s charge? It would put him in close proximity with Henry and therefore angel!Belle. 
> 
> Well done for guessing, darling :-D I was planning for Gold to have been Neal’s previous guardian angel for a while. We will encounter Neal again later, but it may be a while- we need to meet Emma first… ;-)


	10. Oranges and Nutmeg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we don't just find Emma in Boston...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting into overlapping the canon of season 1 of OUAT now, so here's a disclaimer: Any dialog you recognise is not mine but belongs to the creators of OUAT.

As they walked down the streets of Boston, following the boy diligently checking his map, Belle stayed silent, and Gold was strangely thankful for this. He still felt like his emotions were a raw nerve ending after that conversation about his son. He wasn’t quite sure what it was about her that had made him tell her everything- was it the friendly smile, the gentle manner, or that she was one of the few people he’d even had a chance to talk to- really talk to- about it for a good ten years? Even Jefferson didn’t know as much as she did now. It was unsettling.

But he didn’t have much choice other than to trust her with all this, did he? She was bound to have dragged the whole sorry tale out of him sooner or later.

_Just keep telling yourself that…_ a small voice at the back of his head said as they kept walking in the cool night air.

Henry’s path took them down several streets from the bus stop, punctuated by frequent checks of the map and the address he’d printed from his mother’s computer- the boy had been through in his research, and the route they were taking was clearly marked on the map with neon yellow highlighter. Eventually, they arrived at an apartment block on a busy street, entering and taking the lift up several stories. The corridors were clean, with clear signs at every turn stating where to go to find the numbered apartments. The boy walked with purposeful step, going faster and faster down twists and turns until the three of them stopped outside a yellow door covered in elegant cursive script.

Henry paused before knocking; Gold could almost hear the doubts churning in his head. Before he could do anything, however, Belle reached out a hand, resting it through the boy’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Henry. You can do this.” He heard her soft whisper, and watched in mild awe as a soft yellow light travelled from her throat, down her arm, and disappeared into the boy’s shoulder. Henry’s shoulder’s straightened, and he lifted a hand to press the doorbell.

Gold felt a little stunned as they waited for a response from inside the apartment. He’d been able to suggest to people for several years earlier, losing the ability when he gained his corporeal form ten years ago. But he’d never seen someone use it before.

It was beautiful to watch up close.

The door opened quite suddenly, snapping him out of his thoughts. A blonde woman looked around the corridor before her eyes focussed on Henry; behind her stood a tall-ish, dark haired man, who looked at the three of them with curiosity.

“Uh… Can I help you?” The woman at the door asked with uncertainty.

“Are you Emma Swan?” Henry asked.

“Yeah. Who are you?” The (now obviously incorporeal) man behind her looked at the pair of them questioningly, as if to repeat Emma’s question.

“My name’s Henry. I’m your son.”

“And we’re Henry’s guardians.” Gold smoothly continued, addressing the man behind Emma. He looked as startled as Emma at their words, but Belle extended a hand as Henry darted inside, much to Emma’s protests.

“I’m Belle, Belle French. And you are?”

The man shook his head slightly before shaking Belle’s hand. “I’m David Nolan. I’m Emma’s…”

“We gathered that, dearie.” Gold interrupted, and walked inside after Henry, who was patiently explaining to a slightly alarmed Emma that yes, she was indeed his mother.

She hadn’t changed much in the past ten years, Gold reflected. True, she’d gotten rid of those awful glasses and stopped tying her hair up, and was a lot less thin than she had been while on the run with his son, but she still had that keen awareness in her eyes. The years had been kind to her; as he walked around into the apartment, he noted the clean emptiness and the view across the city.

He turned back around to watch Emma and Henry talking; she bolted to the bathroom as Belle and David walked into the apartment.

“So how long have you been guarding Emma?” He heard Belle ask softly as they waited for Emma to emerge, watching Henry raid the fridge for juice. The boy seemed remarkably at ease, despite his birth mother’s reaction.

“A couple of years, I think. She’s been doing quite well for herself- she works as a bail bondsperson, finding people who are otherwise lost or don’t want to be found- for a price, of course.”

“That sounds like an interesting job.” Gold interrupted, mind working furiously at the implications of this- maybe she’d be more helpful finding his son than he’d thought. “I guess that means she’s quite flexible location—wise?”

“I guess so.” David said, a slight frown on his face. “Why?”

Gold gave a calcuating stare at David for a second. The man seemed a quite open and honest sort- how much could Gold get away with telling him and still persuade him to go along with the plan?

“I’ll make you a deal, dearie.” Gold said. “Our aim in coming here was to get Emma to come back with us and with Henry to Storybrooke. If you help us get her to Storybrooke, and to stay there, then I will owe you a favour at some point in the future- I’ll help you out as far as my powers will allow. Deal?”

David looked between them questioningly, noting the confusion on Belle’s face. “What sort of favour?” He asked.

Gold gave a shrug. “Well, I’ve got quite a bit of influence in Storybrooke, dearie. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it- in the meantime, are you going to help us or not?”

Belle moved over, putting a hand on David’s shoulder, her confusion apparently gone. “We really need your help, David. Henry’s family has been split apart for too long, and he needs her.”

David gave a sigh. “Well, I make no promises, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“Great!” Belle said, a chirp in her voice as she moved back, just in time to see Emma emerge from the bathroom. The three watched as Emma entered the room, a smile flitting across Gold’s face for a second. That was one more obstacle down.

“You know, we should probably get going.” Henry piped up as Emma came in.

“Going where?” she asked in a dry voice crossing her arms.

“I want you to come home with me.”

“Okay, kid. I’m calling the cops.” The disbelief echoed in her voice, and she crossed the room to the phone.

“We can’t get the cops involved.” Gold said. “Belle, could you…?” He gestured towards the pair. David watched with interest as she crossed the room towards Emma.

“Then I’ll tell them you kidnapped me.” Henry’s reply was quick, and Emma paused, the dialing tone ringing discordantly across the room.

“And they’ll believe you, because I’m your birth mother.”

“Yep.” Belle had reached her at this point, an arm through Emma’s shoulder, but a frown crossed her face as Emma’s eyebrow quirked.

“You’re not gonna do that.”

“Try me.” Henry replied, a similar challenge in his voice. A pang went through Gold’s heart- it reminded him so much of similar conversations with his son…

“You’re pretty good, but here’s the thing. There’s not a lot I’m great at in life, but I have one skill. Let’s call it a superpower.” Emma fixed Henry with a hard stare. “I can tell when anyone is lying, and you, kid, are.” Emma turned back to the phone in her hand, starting to dial. Belle slumped back.

“I can’t get through to her!” There was a note of panic in Belle’s voice, but Gold stepped across the room quickly, grabbing her hand.

“Wait. Please don’t call the cops. Please. Come home with me.” Henry’s voice was a resigned plea in the background, but Gold’s focus was all on his incorporeal companion.

“Did you read up on switching powers?” He said hurriedly as he extended his other hand through Emma’s shoulder with Belle.

“Yes.” She said quickly, with a jerky nod of her head. A split second later, he felt a pulse of warmth from her hand, and he concentrated to send his own warmth through. The new energy settled in his throat, a brief taste of oranges at the back of his tongue, but he had no time to focus on that. He quickly switched his attention to the thoughts he now could hear from Emma:

_I really don’t need this tonight. It’s my birthday for god’s sake- I’ll let the police handle it, then I can have a quiet evening like I’d planned…_

He spoke quickly and quietly, sending a forceful wave of energy through his other arm as he did so. “It’d be more hassle than it’s worth to get the police involved- it’d be easier just to take him home.” Thankfully, the energy shot through his arm and into Emma’s shoulder first time. She gave a little shiver, but then an almost sigh before addressing Henry again.

“Where’s home?”

“Storybrooke, Maine.”

She gave a sigh of disbelief at Henry’s reply. “Storybrooke? Seriously?”

“Mm-hmm.” Henry seemed nervous, but Emma huffed and nodded.

“All-righty then. Let’s get you back to Storybrooke.” Emma walked across the room, and Gold and Belle dropped their arms with a sigh of relief.

“Wow, she’s stubborn.” Belle said, a shaky laugh crossing her lips.

A smirk crossed Gold’s lips as he replied. “Yep. It’s a good thing I’ve got experience with her- it just needed a bit more emphasis, that’s all. You’ll get it with practice.” He smiled at her.

David walked up behind them, confusion etched across his face. “What on earth did you do, guys? I’ve never seen anything like that before. What’s this… switching… thing you were talking about?”

Gold opened his mouth to explain, but Belle beat him to it. “Well, I’m a relatively new angel, and my ability is Suggestion, where I can try to get people to do stuff by speaking into their minds. I was having trouble with Emma, because some people are more open to Suggestion than others. However, my friend Mr Gold here used to be able to Suggest, and has a lot more experience doing it, so we switched powers.” She raised their joined hands in silent explanation, fingers intertwined with his. He’d forgotten that they were still holding hands; wordlessly he made to loosen his grip, but hers tightened as she kept talking. “Any pair of angels with different sets of powers can switch them temporarily by joining hands and sending them across the link, which allows them to use each other’s powers for as long as they’d normally be able to use them without resting.” Belle seemed to notice their joined hands at that point, a slight hesitancy entering her voice. “I- I guess we should probably switch back now?”

He gave a nod, and concentrated. The warmth at his throat faded, leaving a gentle orange taste, and flowed down to their joined hands. A moment later, he felt a more familiar warmth flow back up his arm, settling in his stomach. She released his hand, drawing it close to her chest and massaging it gently with her other hand.

He cleared his throat, looking up to see Emma and Henry start out the door. “Shall we go, then?” David looked up, nodded and followed after the pair, Gold making to follow them before being stopped briefly by a hand on his arm. He turned back to Belle, a questioning look on his face.

She seemed… unsettled as she half-whispered, “Is it meant to leave a strange taste on your tongue?”

He swallowed. “I’ve a taste of oranges that won’t go away.” He answered quietly.

She gave a half-smile. “And you taste of nutmeg.” she replied softly, before going to follow David down the hall, Gold following a few seconds after, turning her words over in his mind for the whole walk to Emma’s yellow Bug.


	11. The fisherman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we return to Storybrooke and begin to learn of the consequences.

The ride back to Storybrooke was relatively quiet, with Emma and Henry in the front, and their three guardians squished together in the back. Emma stayed silent as she drove, Henry talked a bit about his storybook before lapsing into silence, and the other two angels seemed lost in their thoughts, giving Belle some much needed thinking time as she gazed out the window from her seat behind Emma.

She had read about switching, of course, in her book. But there was a great difference between reading and doing- she hadn’t quite been prepared for needing to use it this quickly. She still had a long way to go with learning to use her powers, and it was lucky that Gold knew what he was doing.

The taste of nutmeg took half the journey to go. It didn’t help that Gold was the one squashed in the middle of the backseat between her and David, his incorporeal cane wedged in the footwell. Having his power, even for a few minutes, had been… strange. The warmth had sat like butterflies in her stomach, and she still felt a vague fluttering there now.

She chanced a glance to the man at her side out of the corner of her eye. He was staring resolutely forward, gaze firmly fixed on the road ahead, a certain stiffness in his shoulders and where his thigh touched hers radiating out. Maybe he was as disquieted as she was, she reasoned as she turned to watch out the window again.

The yellow bug eventually rattled past the green and white ‘Welcome to Storybrooke’ sign, and she shivered slightly as they passed the patch of road she had met Nova on. There was no evidence of the crash now other than a set of tire marks waving across the other side of the road and leading towards the trees. The memory of the crash itself now seemed oddly distant in her mind, like a bad dream easily and voluntarily forgotten.

She felt rather than saw Mr Gold turn slightly- he must have felt her shiver, she supposed.

“Is that where you crashed?” He asked in a surprisingly gentle voice.

“Y… yes.” She replied, turning to study the other two angels. David looked at them curiously, while Gold’s face held a soft sadness she didn’t recognise. “How did- no, it would have been in the papers.” She cut off her inquiry. Of course he would know. Her death and Gavin’s death would have been front page news in their small town. David still looked at them with curiosity, but seemed cautious enough not to ask anything as her gaze dropped to her lap.

The rest of the car ride passed in silence, and soon enough they were parking in front of the mayor’s house (with a brief stop in town to talk to Archie to ask for directions- she wondered why Emma didn’t ask her son to direct them, but decided not to inquire.) Henry piled out the car reluctantly after Emma, and the angels swiftly followed them up the path to the house.

“Please don’t take me back there.” Henry pleaded as they walked through the gate. It seemed the realisation of how much trouble he was going to be in had hit.

“I have to.” Emma replied. “I’m sure your parents are worried sick about you.”

“I don’t have parents- just a mom, and she’s evil.”

“Evil? That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?” Disbelief shone through her voice.

“She is. She doesn’t love me, she only pretends to.” Henry stopped on the path to the house, almost mumbling his answer.

“Kid.” Emma sighed, and seemed to be trying to be sympathetic. “I’m sure that’s not true.”

The door opened, revealing Regina running out, the sheriff standing in the doorway. “Henry?!” She was running down the path at astounding speed towards him. “Oh, Henry!” Her voice broke as she kneeled and threw her arms around Henry. “Are you okay? Where have you been?” Henry didn’t return the hug; after a few seconds, Regina stood up, moving away. Belle could clearly see the tear tracks on her face. “What happened?” The mayor asked her son with uncharacteristic timidness.

“I found my REAL mom!” Henry almost shouted, and bolted for the house. Regina turned, and for the first time seemed to notice the other woman standing on the path.

“You-you’re Henry’s birth mother?”

Emma gave a sheepish smile and a shrug. “Hi.”

The silence was slightly awkward, and a few seconds later, the sheriff mumbled about going to check on Henry, swiftly turning and leaving the two women to stare at each other.

“You need to go with him.” Gold announced as the three of them stood outside the mayor’s house, the boy followed inside by the sheriff. She glared for a second, mild alarm running through her. A slight rush of anger followed.

“What? But what about Regina and Emma? Won’t my skills be needed to stop her leaving? Surely I can do more there?” she glared at Gold.

“The boy will need you more, Belle. We’ll manage, don’t worry.”

“It’s not him I’m worried about!”

“He’s the person you should be worried about, dearie!” There was a bite in his voice, and he seemed about to say more when David moved between them, placing his hands in a placating manner.

“Woah, woah, guys!” He glared at both of them for a moment, and they moved back. A second more, then David continued speaking.

“Belle, Gold is right- Henry will need you, especially if the sheriff starts asking awkward questions. Now is not the time for him to need to go into care or something. Okay?” she hesitated a second, before nodding. She didn’t want to be sidelined, but David had a point.

“Good. And don’t worry about me and Gold- I’ve a trick or two up my sleeve to stop Emma if she wants to go. I will keep our ‘deal’, as you put it.” He nodded to Gold, who seemed more relaxed.

“Very well.” Belle replied, as they started for the house. “Come find me when you guys are sure Emma’s going to stay the night, okay?”

The men nodded, and they separated at the staircase- David and Gold into the sitting room, and Belle up the stairs.

She stopped outside the door to Henry's room to listen for a moment; there were no raised voices, so she summarised things weren't going too badly. The sheriff had never been one for shouting.

She had known Graham before she died- he was the year above her in school, having moved to America with his parents at the tender age of 12, and was generally considered a gentleman. Her friend Mary Margaret had harbored a crush on him for several years in high school, thus she had naturally heard quite a lot about the man. The had never talked much, but he was sweet.

Belle walked inside, finding Henry seated on the bed, and Graham on the chair by the desk. The sheriff was talking in a soft voice.

“You know, your mother was really worried about you, Henry. She knows she said some wrong things, but that doesn’t justify you running away.”

Henry still seemed angry. Belle quickly crossed the room to him, laying a hand on his shoulder to have a look at his thoughts.

_It’s not fair. Just because mom is worried doesn’t mean she has to be so controlling of my life. It’s not like I’m going to be able to convince Graham of that, though, given she’s got him under her thumb…_

She withdrew her hand quickly, disturbed by this new information. How much had changed in the year she had been dead?

Crossing the room to Graham, she lifted an arm through his shoulder to see what he was thinking as Henry spoke.

“It doesn’t make what she said right either, sir. I’m ten already, and she seems to think it’s bad that I’m reading books and making friends around town.”

Graham’s thoughts were muddled and worried. _I have no idea how I’m going to sort this mess out. Regina’s going to be so mad at me, but it’s not the boy’s fault. He was always an independent sort. Do I need to involve social services? Regina will kill me if I do, but the boy’s having a hard time of it, especially if it meant he ran away…_

She quickly opened her mouth. “Try talking to Regina first. There’s no need to involve social services yet- maybe you can negotiate for Henry to have more space.” Graham frowned for a second, but then nodded to himself before starting to speak to Henry.

“I’ll try to talk to your mother, Henry. Maybe I can persuade her to give you a bit more freedom- you’re a growing boy, and you’re allowed your own social circle, even if it does include Mr Gold.” He rose from the chair and turned to leave.

“Can you make sure I’m allowed to keep Mary Margaret’s book too?” Henry asked hurriedly before he left.

Graham turned back, flashing the boy a quick smile. “Of course I’ll help you keep your book. Books are the best thing ever!” And with that, Graham headed out the room and down the stairs, leaving Belle to watch over Henry as he sighed and went to get ready for bed.


	12. Herding cats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which David and Mr Gold are (somewhat) successful in preventing Emma from leaving town, though with highly questionable methods...

_Meanwhile…_

 

The two men watched Belle walk inside, following Henry up the stairs, but turned back to the women standing outside. They watched as Regina put on a winning smile, the one Gold recognised that she learned from her mother for when she was trying to charm people.

“How would you like a glass of the best apple cider you ever tasted?” Regina asked. Emma let out a chuckle and seemed to relax a bit, the tension leaving her shoulders. A moment ago she had looked ready to bolt.

“Got anything stronger?” Emma replied, before following Regina inside. David and Gold trailed after them, heading through to one of the reception rooms.

“How did he find me?” Emma asked curiously as Regina drifted over to the cabinet, reaching for the best of her many decanters of cider. Gold had watched her making cider for years; it was one of the only times she didn’t try to appear to be the put-together, smartly-dressed mayor the town recognised her as. He was one of the few people to have ever seen her in jeans and an old cast-off t-shirt of her fathers.

“No idea.” She replied. “When I adopted him, he was only 3 weeks old. The records were sealed. I was told the birth mother didn’t want to have any contact.”

“You were told right.” Emma said, leaning against a wall as she took the glass offered.

“And the father?”

“There was one.” Her tone had grown defensive, with a note of sorrow.

“Do I need to be worried about him?”

“Nope. He doesn’t even know.” The note of sorrow remained, and Mr Gold questioned his decision to send Belle upstairs. Emma clearly knew _something_.

“Do I need to be worried about you, Ms Swan?” Regina’s voice was wary.

“Absolutely not.” Emma replied firmly, and Regina seemed to relax a fraction, but the sound of footsteps on the stairs stopped her words. Graham appeared from the hallway, a placating expression on his face.

“Madame Mayor, you can relax. Other than being a tired little boy, Henry’s fine.”

“Thank you, Sheriff.” He seemed to want to say more, but Regina sent him a stony look, and he quickly made his way out the front door, muttering excuses about needing to check on a prisoner. Regina turned back to Emma, gesturing, and she followed her through to the study.

“I’m sorry he dragged you out of your life. I really don’t know what’s gotten into him.”

“Kid’s having a rough time. It happens.” Emma shrugged, swigging from her glass as she sat down on an offered couch. Regina sat down opposite, but didn’t drink, her shoulders still slightly tense.

“You have to understand, ever since I became Mayor, balancing things has been tricky. You have a job, I assume?”

“I keep busy, yeah.” Emma seemed slightly uncomfortable at this line of questioning, but Regina’s smile seemed to relax her.

“Imagine having another one on top of it. That’s being a single mom, so I push for order. Am I strict? I suppose, but I do it for his own good. I want Henry to excel in life. I don’t think that makes me evil, do you?”

Emma shrugged again. “I’m sure he’s just saying that because of the fairy tale thing.”

“What fairy tale thing?” Regina’s voice was curious, with a hint of iciness.

“Oh, you know, his book, how he thinks everyone’s a cartoon character from it, like his shrink is Jiminy Cricket.” Gold’s eyebrow’s shot up at this. He’d have to talk with Belle soon about the effects that book was having on the boy. He understood it gave him a way to see the world, but cartoon characters? Really?

Regina looked equally nonplussed, and slightly annoyed. “I’m sorry, I really have no idea what you’re talking about.” She seemed to have decided not to bring up what she already knew about the book, given that she thought Emma was leaving.

Emma sighed, then downed her drink.“You know what? It’s none of my business. He’s your kid, and I really should be heading back.” She stood, placing her now-empty glass down on the table.

“Of course.” Regina showed her out the front door with a cursory goodbye, David and Mr Gold trailing out the house. He considered calling up the stairs to let Belle know that they were following Emma, but decided against it; she was probably busy looking after Henry. He still didn’t have a clue as to how they were going to stop Emma leaving now, but David walked after Emma with a determined step that seemed to indicate that he had a plan.

They headed out to the car, following Emma a few steps behind.

“You don’t happen to have any bright ideas for how to stop her leaving town, do you?” Gold asked. “My specialist abilities stop when we reach the town line.”

David let out a chuckle. “I don’t think it’ll quite come to that, mate. I can make Illusions.”

Gold gaped in surprise. “I’ve never come across someone who can do that before.” He muttered. “How much can you do with it?”

“I can make her see or hear things. I’ve never quite mastered the other three senses, but that should be more than sufficient to stop her once she’s driving, though I may need your help once we’ve stopped.” He explained as they piled into the back of the car and started driving out of town. They reached the road Belle had died on when Emma looked at the seat beside her and let out a chuckle. They followed her gaze to see Henry’s book on the seat beside her.

“Oh, that boy of yours is very clever. Are you sure he’s not in on the plan?”

“Quite sure, dearie. Now, if you could distract her before we leave town…”

“On it.” David said, before leaning forward from the backseat and putting an arm through Emma’s shoulder. “This may be turbulent.”

With almost no warning, Emma’s eyes snapped back to the road; she swerved violently. The car jerked and spun, eventually coming to a violent halt, crashing into the sign it had taken the last six months to persuade Regina to fund putting up.

He loosened his unexpectedly necessary death-grip on the back of Emma’s headrest, and reached an arm forward to check her pulse. He waited for the steady beat under his fingers before turning to his inanely grinning companion.

“Were you planning this all along?”

He beamed back, causing Gold’s frown to deepen. “I had something like this in mind. That’s one of the reasons why I was on your side with the division of labor earlier- I doubt your lovely companion would have enjoyed a reminder of her death.”

He glared at him. “You do realise you could have very easily killed your charge with that little stunt, right?” He gave a huff as David’s smile refused to dim, then continued, “So what’s the other reason you required my services over those of Belle’s? We could have avoided this whole car crash if-”

“Ah Ah.” He held a finger up, interrupting. “I have good reasons. If Emma’s beloved car is totalled, she can’t leave town for a good few days, forcing her to take the time to investigate the town and learn about her son’s life. She’s very loyal to those she considers family, Mr Gold.”

Another angry huff passed his lips as he considered David’s words. He was right, damnit.

“Alright, but what exactly did you need me here for?”

“You said you could become corporeal, correct?”

“Ye-es…”

“Well, you’ll be needing to call the sheriff. If he finds her here unconscious, he will put two and two together with her drinking cider with the mayor earlier and bring her in for the night. It’s better than one of the constables from the other nearby towns finding her and it keeps her in Storybrooke.”

He frowned. The plan, technically, would work; he always left himself a couple of hours of time in each day from the maximum he could be corporeal in case of emergencies. Corporeal angels could only be so for twelve hours of any given day- he had spent a good ten of those in his shop every day, and the people of Storybrooke knew never to try and contact him outside those times. Phoning Graham at this hour was bound to be suspicious, but there were no better options immediately available.

“Fine, I’ll do it.” He grumbled. “But let’s get out of this car first.”

David beamed at him, before scrambling out the now open door of the Bug. Gold reluctantly shuffled out after him, stepping over onto the road before shimmering into visibility. Thankfully Emma still seemed unconscious.

He pulled his phone out, making a shooing gesture at an intently watching David, who stepped back to go look at Emma as he tapped in the number for the police station and held the phone to his ear.

The sheriff picked up after a few seconds; the slight yawn in his voice indicating he was probably pulling an all-nighter at the station.

“Sheriff Graham speaking.”

Gold did his best to disguise his voice, a slightly fake american accent passing his lips that made his incorporeal companion wince. “There’s been a car crash on the edge of town.”

He heard the scrape of a chair. “Mr Gold? Is that you?” The disbelieving tone echoed through Graham’s voice.

He gave a huff. “No, it’s not, but there’s this woman who’s crashed her car into the town sign.”

Graham gave a sigh. “Wait, wait, let me get my incident form. I take it it’s not an emergency?”

“No, she’s unconscious but quite alright.”

“Riight…” Graham trailed off, and he heard the shuffle of papers, accompanied by what might have been the town drunk’s voice in the background, asking who was calling at this hour of the morning.

“It’s Mr Gold with a funny accent.” He heard the reply, and was about to angrily retort with a variety of his best Scottish curse-words when Graham was talking into the phone again.

“Right. Name?”

“Erm… Silver. John Silver.”

“Mr… Gold… with… a… funny… accent… yes, and what was it you wanted to report?”

He bit back a scathing comment about the English before replying, “A woman in a yellow Bug has crashed her car into the town sign. She is unconscious but appears not to be injured. I can’t stay to bring her to the police station but you might want to send someone over to take her in. I can smell alcohol on her breath.”

He heard the scratching of a pen for a few seconds, and then Graham’s voice reappeared. “Right, I’ll get out there now then. Is there anything else?”

“No.”

“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can; thank you for calling. Have a good night, Mr Gold.” The phone went dead before he could issue a reply; he turned to his companion, and swore loudly as David doubled over in laughter, flickering out of the corporeal spectrum as he did so.

“It’s not that funny, you know.” He grumbled as David’s laughter quieted. “Now have you had enough laughter at my expense for the evening?”

David wiped his eyes, before replying with a slight leftover breathlessness, “For now, yes. But your face…!”

“Yes, yes, whatever.” He waved his cane at him dismissively. “What now? I assume you no longer require my services to make sure your charge stays in town?”

“No, I think we’re done for the night. I imagine the sheriff will get someone to tow her car into town in the morning, but she’s not going anywhere fast. Do either you or Belle want to come find me in the morning?”

“I guess we can compare notes sometime tomorrow.” Gold replied. “I’ll either send Belle over to the station, or you can probably find me at my shop- it’s not hard to miss, on the high street opposite the clock tower and the library.”

“I’ll keep an eye out.” David said. “See you tomorrow, then.” He turned and started for the Bug, and Gold focused for a moment before turning on the spot and sending himself back to his charge.


	13. The lost shepherd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we find out more about Emma's guardian angel...

Belle had been sitting with Henry for a good half an hour before Mr Gold unceremoniously materialised in Henry’s bedroom- she had heard talking down the stairs after Graham had left, and she and Henry had watched out the window a few minutes later as Emma left, her yellow bug chugging down the road, the two shadowy figures in the backseat only seen by her. Regina had gone to bed shortly afterwards without a word to Henry other than peeking in the room to see him pretending to be asleep; the boy had actually gone to sleep a few minutes later, the long day finally catching up with the ten-year-old.

Her companion sat down on the edge of Henry’s bed by her side with a groan, resting his weary head in a hand.

“How did it go?” She asked quietly after half a minute of silence.

“Well, she’s not leaving town tonight.” He mumbled into his hands, before raising his head to look at her with an exasperated expression. “She is currently, or soon to, spend the night in the police station. Your friend David had the bright idea of crashing her car into the town sign and getting her arrested on drunk driving charges, courtesy of a little Illusion, Regina’s cider, and a phone call from me at stupid o’clock in the morning.”

She gave out a short chuckle at his deadpan description of what happened, but stopped quickly at his glare. With a cough to cover up an errant giggle, she replied, “Great. I guess David stayed with her? I hope she wasn’t too badly injured…”

“She’s fine, Belle. She’ll probably wake up in a jail cell but right as rain. Which is more than can be said for the state of her car.”

“How bad was the car damaged? And how attached is she to it?”

He gave a shrug. “I remember that yellow bug from when she and my boy were running around together- I believe they met when she stole it after he did. If she’s still got it I guess she’s probably pretty attached to it- Emma and Neal were going to take it with them to Canada before she got arrested, and the police kept it safe while she was in prison.” He gave a sigh. “She’s going to be mad when she learns there’s now a massive dent in the front and scratches in the paintwork down the sides.”

“That’s gonna take Billy a while to fix.” She replied. “Especially if the paint-work’s damaged- they probably don’t stock yellow.”

He gave a brief burst of laughter, face relaxing. “Yep, she’ll probably be kept in town for a good few days then. One of us will probably need to go catch up with David at some point tomorrow though so we can plan how to keep her here on a more long term basis.”

“Hmm… you’re right. How about I go find him tomorrow? We can make sure Emma finds somewhere to stay in town- probably Granny’s- and then once she and Henry are safely asleep we can get down to planning.”

“Are you sure? It’s technically still your day to keep an eye on Henry.”

She gave a sigh. “I get the feeling that a rota’s not going to work for too much longer- we need to be smart in how we use our powers and that probably won’t fit to a nice, neat schedule.”

He gave a short, sharp nod after a few moments of consideration. “We’ll do it on a case by case basis then.”

“Great.” She said, flashing him a quick smile. She looked around the room, and after a few seconds, said tentatively, “Um… There’s not much point in me going out just yet.”

“Not really.” He replied.

“So… um…”

“What?” He looked at her questioningly.

“How do you pass the time? It’s not like there’s a lot to do while Henry’s asleep. While everyone’s asleep, really.”

He shrugged. “I doze, generally. Sometimes I nip over to see my friend Jefferson, sometimes I go down the nunnery to discuss business, sometimes I go to the library to read a book or two…”

Her head jerked up at the mention of books. “The library’s been closed for years! The books are all still there?”

“Yep. All just waiting for funding for a librarian to run the place, which, unfortunately, the mayor is a bit reluctant to spend. It’s a pity; there’s some gems in there…”

“Can we go?” She asked, an excited note in her voice. Belle could barely stop herself from jumping about in excitement.

“I haven’t been in a while. I might as well make the trip.” He gave a small smirk at her excitement. “Have you worked out how to teleport yet?”

“… I think so? It’s pretty much like apparation, right?”

He gave a nod. “I’ll see you at the library, then?”

She gave a nod in reply, before standing and focussing, twisting on her heel. The world gave a lurch around her, and within a second she was standing in front of the closed doors of the library. She knelt down quickly as her stomach and head span with butterflies, and she heard a soft displacement of the air next to her as she tried not to retch. After a few seconds, a hand appeared in front of her to help her back to her feet.

Gold’s expression was of mild amusement. “You do realise the physical effects of it are all in your head, right?”

She gave him a light glare for a moment. Yes, she had read that the feeling of butterflies or of wanting to puke were all remnants of her mental image of herself as human; she felt like this should give her motion sickness, so it did. Her musings quickly vanished, however, as she turned to the closed doors before her.

“Do you know I walked past these doors every day for years?” She murmured as they walked over. “I always tried to peer in, and always wondered if I’d ever be able to look at the treasures inside.”

“Well; wish granted.” He replied, gesturing with his cane for her to walk through the doors before him. She hesitated, before passing through the barrier no mortal had passed for years.

It wasn’t a big library; the shelves only went back a few metres, and there was a circulation desk over there and a small office behind it. Dust motes swirled through the air as Mr Gold followed her through the doors, wandering over to a small pile of books next to a circle of plush chairs clearly designed for children rather than adults. He inelegantly eased himself down into one of them, using his cane for balance before picking a book off the top of the pile by the chair and opening it, quickly becoming lost in the words.

She turned, and ventured through the shelves. It was small, yes, but well-organised. She picked out a few old favourites, a couple of books she had wanted to read but hadn’t yet, and one or two that looked interesting, before turning back to the circle of chairs and finding the next-comfiest looking one, two seats down from where her incorporeal companion was lost in a book.

She set herself down, and quickly became lost in a world of her own for a while.

 

****

 

The sun had been risen for a few hours when Gold put his book down with a thud, startling Belle out of the chapter she was reading. She looked up to see him stand up.

“Henry’s awake.” He said quietly, by way of explanation. She looked at her lifeline for confirmation- yes, the colour had changed from a gentle silver to a vibrant warm yellow, indicating that their charge was conscious.

“I guess we should each get going, then.” Belle replied, setting her book down gently on the top of her pile. She stood up, and made to leave.

“Will you drop by the shop later?” he asked, just before she left through the doors.

“Probably, yes.” She replied, turning back briefly to face him. “I’ll bring David along so he knows where to find you if he needs you later over the next few weeks, how does that sound?”

He gave a quick nod, before turning on his heel and vanishing from sight. She waited for a second, then strode out the door and down the street.

She hadn’t visited the police station while she was alive; despite her friend Graham working there, she’d never found a reason to visit.

_Well, there’s no time like the present to change that._ She thought to herself as she crossed the high street. There was a glimpse of yellow in the garage on her way past, indicating the presence of the yellow car she’d been in the evening before on the return to Storybrooke.

The police station was not the most impressive building, with fading paint and clinical walls on the inside, and a dull grey facade on the outside. Graham’s patrol car was parked outside; he was probably inside keeping an eye on Emma.

She quickly traipsed inside, out of the grey morning drizzle, into the messy office space with two cells side by side on the opposite wall. Emma was gently dozing inside a cell, the town drunk (what was his name? Larry? Luke? No- Leroy, that was it) lounging in the other. Graham was in a glass doored office separated from the rest of the room, and David was sitting on an uncomfortable sofa just outside Emma’s cell. He leapt up upon spotting Belle enter the room.

“Finally! I was wondering when one of you two would show up.”

She gave a snort of laughter at his obvious enthusiasm for her arrival. “Slow night, I take it?”

“You got that right. Emma woke up briefly when Graham was bringing her in, but has been asleep since. She’s not injured, but I think Graham’s going to send her to the hospital for a checkup when she wakes up- the car’s pretty totalled, and she should be too by the looks of it.” He sighed. “But Emma’s always been a tough thing all the time I’ve known her. She’s shaken off worse.”

“How long has she been your charge?” Belle asked, perching on an untidy desk.

David shrugged. “A couple of years, I think. I’m not good at keeping track, to be honest. It feels like a couple of years- yesterday was the second birthday she’s had under my care.” He opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted by a groan from inside Emma’s cell. He turned quickly, and they watched as Emma gave another small creaking sound and rolled to sit up, a hand raised to her head and eyes fluttering open. She looked around and into the next cell, where Leroy sat whistling.

“What’re you looking at, sister?” He asked with a snarl upon noticing her attention. She didn’t have time to reply, however, as Graham strolled into the room, jangling a set of keys.

“Leroy, be nice. I’m going to let you out, but you need to behave.” He opened the cell next to Emma’s, and the town drunk rose on slightly unsteady feet.

“Put on a smile, and stay out of trouble.” Graham admonished him as he strolled past and out of the police station. The sheriff turned to Emma’s cell next.

“Seriously?” she asked from between the bars.

“Regina’s drinks were obviously a little stronger than we thought.” He replied with a smile, flipping through the ring of keys and unlocking her cell.

“I wasn’t drunk,” she replied, a serious note in her voice. “There was a wolf in the road.”

David smirked, and Belle turned to watch him. “That was your doing, I suppose?” David gave a nod of reply as Graham opened the cell.

“Well, wolf or not, you did crash your car into the town sign, and almost certainly got concussion. I’m taking you down the hospital to make sure you’re okay before I let you go properly, okay?”

“I guess, but I’m not sure my insurance will cover it.”

He gave her an incredulous look as they walked out the police station and towards the patrol car, the angels invisibly following. “I’ll get them to put it on mine. Honestly, you Americans have a rubbish health care system. You could have bleeding on the brain and still be worrying that your damn insurance doesn’t cover it!”

The drive to the hospital in the patrol car was littered with Graham rambling about the woes of capitalist health care systems and the joys of the NHS, while Emma mostly stayed silent, making the occasional affirmative noises where necessary.

Belle remembered Graham’s rants about health care quite well from when she was alive, and was crying with laughter by the time they stopped in the hospital car park. David gave her a disbelieving look as they climbed out after Emma and Graham, but didn’t comment.

It was quite a cosy hospital, not much smaller than when she had last been there; memories from visiting her mother during her brief battle with cancer clung to the walls, and she excused herself as Emma and David went into the examination room with Dr Whale to walk the hallways, her feet leading her to the long term care ward that her mother had been in for a few weeks prior to her death. The residents in this ward had little hope for recovery, either in comas or close to death itself.

Her mother’s bed was currently empty, and she was disquieted. The last time she was here, there was a wilting vase of daffodils she had brought from the shop sitting in a vase, and a maze of machines and wires around her mother’s frail form. She turned from the empty bed quickly, wiping a hand at the tears forming in her eyes and wandering over to one of the other beds.

It took her a few moments to place the face of the man lying in the bed, but she reeled back as soon as she saw, properly _saw_ , who it was. Moments later she was galloping back down the stairs, bursting into the room where Dr Whale was poking long fingers across Emma’s skull, and dragging David back up the stairs.

“What the…?” He asked as he was unceremoniously pulled down the corridors.

“Don’t ask, you just need to see this!” She said, a worried excitement echoing through her voice. After a few seconds too long, they arrived at the bedside she was at before.

It took David a few seconds to grasp what he was seeing, but he went curiously pale before staggering into a chair by the bed.

“How… what am I doing there? Why is my body lying in Storybrooke hospital?” He asked in a quiet voice.

“I… I don’t know.” She replied softly.

“I thought I was dead! I thought I died! Why am I still here? Jesus, what happened?” He was almost shouting, rising to his feet as his anger built, but a sudden crack caught their attention and cut off his tirade. They turned quickly, spotting the brightly-clad figure of Nova standing at their side.

David seemed alarmed by this latest development, staggering back into the chair. “How…?” He asked weakly.

Nova shrugged. “You invoked one of the Boss’ names. Help was sent.” She looked between the comatose man on the bed and his incorporeal counterpart. “I was wandering when you’d make it back.”

“I… I don’t remember much of what happened. Can you tell me?” He asked in a small voice. Nova smiled, and drew over another couple of chairs, patting David on the hand as she and Belle sat down.

“You’ve probably got memory loss, and for good reason. You were involved in a severe car accident 2 years ago. For some people, when they’re in a coma their souls wander away from their bodies. In long term cases, such as yours, they may become guardian angels for a while, but the price of this is that they will have only vague and hazy memories of who they were when awake, and will forget almost everything from their wanderings if they choose to wake up.”

“That… makes sense.” David said in a small voice. “I’ve always wondered why I couldn’t remember what happened to make me an angel.” He gave a small, hiccuping sob, as if trying not to cry. “What have I forgotten? What can you tell me about who I was before?”

“Your name was David Nolan. You worked in an animal shelter in town, and had a wife who you loved. She’s still alive, and wants to go to Law school in Boston, but doesn’t want to leave you in case you wake up. You had a pet dog called Baxter, who now lives at the shelter, and a mother, who passed away six months ago from a stroke.”

As Nova recited details of who David once was, his small sobs increased, until he was weeping openly. He leant across the arm of his chair to rest his head on Belle’s shoulder, and she patted his head with sympathy. She couldn’t imagine losing the memory of who she was like that, but summarised that it was an experience she would hate.

“So what do I do now?” David asked. “Can I go back? Should I move on?”

“I can’t answer those questions for you, David.” Nova replied. “You can choose to do either, and either option is simple and easy to complete, but it is your choice and yours alone as to whether you feel you have more to do in your mortal life or whether it’s time to move on.” Nova patted his arm, and stood up. “How about you take some time to think about it? I’ll meet you back here later, when you’ve come to a decision.” And with that, Nova quietly walked away.

It was a few minutes before she was able to coax David out of the chair and away from his comatose body. “We need to go check on Emma.” She said, and he quietly nodded his agreement.

The walk back down the stairs was slow, with David hanging onto Belle’s arm slightly as they walked. He was clearly still a bit emotionally fragile, and she was careful not to comment, but all was forgotten as they arrived in the lobby to Emma standing near an alarmed Graham, talking rapidly into his phone;

“What do you mean, Henry’s missing _again_?!”


	14. The house on the sand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which some argumentative plotting occurs...

When Gold’s teleporting took him to just outside the house rather than Henry’s bedroom, he thought it odd and tried again.

When he arrived slightly down the street a second time and saw the slight figure of his charge heading down the road, he knew it was going to be a difficult day.

He’d had such a pleasant night, once all the kerfuffle of running off after Henry, fetching his mother, and crashing her car into a signpost was finished with. The evenings he had spent in the abandoned library over the last ten years were always restful, and this one was no exception, especially with a companion who enjoyed books just as much, if not more, than he did.

Things were looking up, it seemed, until he was limping down the road after Henry as fast as he could.

The path they took through town was quite familiar, winding towards the beach on the other side of town with a wooden castle standing out across the grey cloudy sky. Henry sat in his usual spot to watch the sea, and Gold clambered up to sit next to his charge.

Henry had been coming here for a good year or so, the wooden castle providing somewhere quiet to escape to on the days where his arguments with Regina had gotten too much. They had first visited here on a school trip to the beach to investigate the ecosystems, and Henry had spotted the abandoned playground on the way there. He’d been visiting there ever since, and Gold had come along with him every time, arriving after a while in corporeal form to usher the boy back to civilization before his mother noticed.

He really had to tell Belle about this place sooner rather than later, he supposed. Unfortunately there was no easy way to contact her or grab her attention- the powers of a guardian angel were geared towards it being a solitary pursuit, and there was no spiritual equivalent to a mobile phone, other than using one of the Boss’ names to summon a higher-level angel if you were in severe trouble. He would simply have to wait until she arrived at the shop later.

They stayed there for what felt like much longer than usual; the sun got higher and higher, and he was about to walk off to materialise out of sight and fetch the boy back to town when the blond head of Emma appeared over the crest of the hill, quickly followed by the see-through figures of Belle and David.

“Is he okay?” Belle asked as they drew closer, Emma going over to Henry and returning his book.

“He’s fine; he was on his way here when I left you, but there was no easy way to let you know he’d run off.”

“Ah, that makes sense. We only learned about it when Regina called Graham, which was an hour or two ago. Thankfully Mary Margaret was reasonably helpful and was able to tell Emma and us about this place.”

His lips quirked into a small smile. “She’s always been a very helpful girl, if a bit naive.”

David was busy looking around the wooden structure, climbing up and around while his charge and her son talked. She was telling him about why she was still there and why he shouldn’t keep running away, so Gold saw no reason for either of them to interfere yet.

He turned back to Belle; she was frowning slightly, but made no reply to his last comment. He cleared his throat, and asked, “So, anything much happen while you went to collect Emma?”

She seemed to be thinking for a second before she responded, as if she wasn’t sure what to say, but eventually replied, “Well, I met David and Emma at the police station. Graham took her to the hospital to make sure she was okay from after the crash last night, which she was, and we found David’s body in the long-term care section.”

He blinked, taking a moment to process what he’d heard. “What?!” he looked at her; she seemed to be completely serious. “You mean… he’s not dead?!”

“Nope.” She shrugged. “I had no idea that that was a thing either. It seemed from what Nova said that it doesn’t happen very often, but his soul wandered away from his body. He’s currently in a coma, but can wake up whenever he chooses.”

“Huh.” He frowned. “So what’s he doing in Storybrooke hospital?”

“I think his wife lives here, or nearby at least. He was in a car accident a couple of years back, and used to work in the animal shelter.”

“Hmm. I guess that’s why I never encountered him- the animal shelter’s privately owned by the Spencers, so I never had reason to go there.” He gazed across at the wooden castle, Henry and Emma still talking quietly, and David leaning next to them. “Has he decided whether he’s going to wake up yet?” He asked Belle quietly.

“I really don’t know.” She replied softly. “Don’t push him- I don’t think this has been an easy piece of knowledge to take for him- he has an entire life that he’s mostly forgotten.”

“But why wouldn’t he wake up immediately then? He’s got a family, it’s not fair to keep them waiting while he continues to sleep!” His voice was still quiet, but the agitation he felt still seeped through.

“Because he’s going to forget everything that’s happened while he’s been comatose, that’s why!” she replied with an equally agitated whisper. “How would you feel if you forgot your entire life, but the only way to remember would be to forget the entire of your life as you know it now, and everything you knew would drift away as if it were a dream? Huh?” She ended her whispered tirade with fire in her eyes and at a volume just loud enough for David to notice and start walking over before Gold had time to reply.

“Is everything okay over here?” David asked.

“Just peachy, dearie. Have you come to a decision about your comatose state yet?” He could see Belle fuming out of the corner of his eye.

David frowned at him. “Is that why the two of you were arguing like an old married couple?”

He spluttered, and stumbled back a step. Belle’s jaw dropped. “No! We just were… were discussing…”

Belle recovered quickly. “We were discussing the possible implications your waking up could have on our current mission to keep Emma in town. We’d have a lot more work on our hands if you did wake, but we understand if you feel like that’s the best option for you.”

David’s expresssion softened. “I… I’m still thinking it over, to be honest. I don’t exactly relish forgetting two years of my life, and you guys still need my help.”

“There’s nothing saying you need to decide just yet, Mr Nolan.” Gold replied. “It would be helpful if you give us some advanced notice to ensure the taking over of your duties runs smoothly, that’s all.”

David nodded. “When I do decide, you guys will be the first to know, I promise. I think I’d like some time to look up some more about what my life was like before. I’m not going to decide without more information, but I don’t have an easy way of getting it.”

“Gold could do some asking around, if it helps.” Belle interjected.

“Though I might need a bit more information before I start poking around corporeally.” He said, glaring at Belle for volunteering him. He had enough on his plate already with keeping Emma in town- they didn’t have time for this. She glared back at him, but her attention was distracted by something over his shoulder.

He turned around. Emma was getting up, Henry following her, clutching a familiar book from the day before to his chest. Obviously Emma had retrieved it from her crashed car and given it back to the boy.

“We’ll probably need to split up soon, and Gold needs to go open his shop. How about we meet up in the hospital with you this evening, after our charges are asleep, to sort out what we do next?” Belle said as Emma and Henry made their way across to her car to head back into town.

“Sounds like a plan.” David replied before Gold could get a word in edgeways. “Good luck with your research.”

“Thanks.” Gold replied, voice dripping with sarcasm, before he turned to Belle. “Can you keep an eye on Henry while I… research?”

“Of course. See you at the shop after school?”

He sighed. “Where else?” He quickly span on his heels, leaving Belle and David to follow Emma and Henry to what would surely be a very interesting conversation with Regina. He didn’t have time to follow that. He had a certain Kathryn Nolan to visit…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This will be the last scheduled chapter for the next few weeks, since I will be attempting NaNoWriMo this year and hope to come out the other side with a shiny new rumbelle superhero AU for you to read. December may be busy as well with my rumbelle secret santa writing and revising for exams, so keep an eye out but don't expect a return of regular updates until a week or two into the new year.   
> Thanks for reading!


	15. Half a Soul united

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which David gains some rather important information and things change drastically...
> 
> A/N: ...aaaand we're back! :-) I'm gonna go back to posting weekly on Wednesdays, so stay tuned for more this time next week!

The rest of Henry’s day was, mercifully, uneventful. Regina was more overjoyed that Henry was safe than angry that he’d run away again, and Belle and David had parted ways there. He agreed to meet them at the hospital later that evening once their charges were settled somewhere or asleep. Belle ended up following her charge to school again, the normal chatter of school soothing to her frayed nerves after that last argument.

She could understand Gold’s reasoning for wanting David to wake up, to be with his family again, but that wasn’t necessarily the right choice for David. Other than the standard small vase of flowers on the sleeping man’s bedside, she hadn’t seen any other sign that anyone cared whether the man woke or not- no card, no small stuffed animals like those present at the other bedsides. It was cold and impersonal, no sign of a loving wife or doting children that maybe her companion would have hoped to see. From what she had remembered of her mother’s hospital bed, you could hardly see the table for the cards and flowers and fruit and toys piled there- she had been loved so much by all who knew her.

Her melancholic musings were interrupted by the bell signaling the end of the school day, and she dutifully followed Henry down the road to Gold’s shop. He didn’t have anything to give the pawnbroker today, only a playstation that Gold had taken a few days to repair given the lacking parts to pick up, now good as new.

He hadn’t found much out in his time researching, it seemed. He remembered a Mrs Nolan from his time in town, he shared as they walked after Henry, but she was in a long-standing affair with the gym teacher at the local secondary school. Belle recognised the rumor from back when she was alive- it had been the talk of the town for a few weeks, but Belle hadn’t been especially interested in the gossip mill, books being her preferred source of company.

“Do you think David would want to go back if he knows that his loving ‘wife’ is cheating on him?” She asked as they followed Henry inside the Mills house.

He shrugged. “I probably wouldn’t in this case- there’s no children involved, so why complicate the situation? It doesn’t seem like there was much else for him to stay for- a part time job at the animal shelter, no degree, no grand purpose…”

“I guess we’ll just have to let him make his own mind up this evening.” She replied. “We can’t decide this for him.”

Since Henry was grounded, it was a quiet evening for all three of them, dinner and homework and bedtime coming in quick succession under Regina’s orders. She didn’t seem quite as angry as earlier, the intervening hours probably mellowing her mood, but all three were glad once Henry was in bed and Regina’s barked orders were over for the evening. They waited for Henry to fall asleep, then teleported arm in arm to just outside the hospital, given Belle’s shaky skills and Gold not knowing the exact location of David’s body yet.

They waited a good few minutes at David’s bedside before the man himself turned up, walking briskly into the room, accompanied by Nova. He nodded curtly at Gold, but offered Belle a small smile.

“Emma’s asleep in Granny’s, finally. Did you find much?” He asked as they came over, sitting themselves at David’s bedside.

“Not much. You have a wife who is in a long term relationship with another man; a small house, a former job at the animal shelter, but not much more than that.”

The younger man ran a hand through his hair distractedly.

“Well, that’s not a lot to go on. How am I supposed to make a decision off of that?”

The three of them waited as David started pacing the room, deep in thought. Gold almost made to stand, but was stopped by a hand on his arm and a whispered few words from Nova that she couldn’t hear.

His pacing was interrupted by the door softly opening, a small woman Belle recognised after a moment as Henry’s teacher slipping into the room. She padded across the room to the bedside, retrieving the book from under her arm as she sat in the chair there.

“Hello again.” She said, voice quiet and gentle. “I thought that I would read you another fairy tale this week- Henry has the book I normally use, but I’ve got other books of fairy tales. Maybe… Snow White this week?”

She started off her reading, and Belle looked around. David’s pacing was still at a standstill, his gaze stuck on the small woman reading to his lifeless body.

“I… Do I know her?” David asked after a few moments.

Belle and Gold shared a confused look. Nothing about Mary Margaret had come up in their research. Before either of them could answer, though, Nova beckoned him over.

“One of my abilities is to tell the potential of what people could be to one another. I could tell you who she is or was to you once, if you like.”

Gold scoffed. “No offence, but I’m not sure it’s the most effective ability, Nova. You once told me that Colette could have been my mother-in-law, of all things.”

Nova gave him a glare. “It’s about the potential of the relationship, Gold, not what’s there yet. Now shut up and let me work, okay?” She gave him one last glare before beckoning David to give him her hand, placing her other hand on Mary Margaret’s shoulder. Belle leaned forward, fascinated, as a cord of light appeared between David and Mary Margaret, the colour shifting and changing before settling on a bright white shining across the room.

All the angels in the room heard Nova let out a small gasp of surprise, the cord of light vanishing as she staggered back from David and Mary Margaret.

“What is it? What did it mean?” David asked, as Belle’s mind raced back to what she had read in her handbook. The different colours of cord stood for different potentials for relationships to get to; white meant… white meant…

“It means… it means you could be true loves.” Belle said quietly as Nova continued to struggle for words, and David’s eyes darted between the oblivious Mary Margaret and the angels standing with him.

“… true loves?” David asked after a moment’s deliberation. “What does that entail exactly?” Nova had at this point recovered from her speechlessness, and launched into an explanation.

“The Boss knows the person we would have the happiest life alongside, the person we would fall in love with over and over again, the person we are destined to live alongside in an ideal world. We don’t always meet that person in life, but there’s always a chance we might find them; if not, we will certainly meet them on the other side, and generally souls will go to heaven once they have found them, or will meet them there.

“There is a tendency for souls who haven’t found their true loves in life or whose true loves are still living to linger on after death or trauma; The Boss likes to unite true loves where possible, whether it be in life or death, because said souls are inevitably happier for it in the long run. The relationship potential for true loves is always white, signifying the purest love between the individuals in question, and The Boss will often provide other signs that the two are meant to be together as well, though as we all know The Boss’ messages are cryptic at the best of times…” Nova trailed off, and David sat down abruptly in the other chair alongside Mary Margaret.

David was silent for a good few minutes; Belle exchanged a worried look with Gold, who gave a shrug and looked more confused than surprised. Nova shared Belle’s look of concern.

“So… you’re telling me this woman is my best chance of happiness? Of love?” David said.

“Pretty much…” Nova replied.

“… But if I do wake up I’m probably not going to remember that… I’m probably going to go back to my wife and try and make that work, knowing me.” David said, a sullen note in his voice. “Does this happen very often? One of the two dead and the other alive?”

“My true love is still alive.” Nova replied. “I’m his guardian angel, and I didn’t meet him until I started guarding him.”

Belle and Gold immediately looked to Nova, the sorrowful note in her voice that had started as she had told David about true loves finally making sense.

“Oh Nova… I’m so sorry…” Belle said, crossing the room to draw Nova into a hug. Nova gave her a gentle hug back, but drew away after a moment.

“It’s okay, Belle, really. I’m sure Leroy and I will have plenty of time together once he’s passed, and in the meantime, I get to spend time with him and get to know him and make sure he’s happy. I’ve been looking after him for 20 years now; he still has some problems, but we’re working through them together. It won’t be forever.” She gave Belle a wobbly smile.

“Do you know how old…?” David’s voice interrupted them, and Belle swiveled to reply.

“Mary Margaret’s about the same age as I am- twenty… two, I think?”

David’s expression transitioned from hopeful to resigned. “Sixty years… I’d have to wait sixty to eighty years?!” He huffed, before resuming his pacing up and down the room. “I can’t wait sixty years for a chance at happiness… anything could happen. Emma might leave town, Mary Margaret might leave town, and then the chances of us finding one another again would be ridiculously slim…” He suddenly paused in his pacing, turning to the other angels. “Wait… wait wait wait! You!” He darted across the room to the three of them. “You could try and make sure I get together with Mary Margaret, right?”

Belle and Gold shared an uncertain look, before Gold started speaking. “Erm… I don’t know… we’ve got our hands pretty full with Henry, and with keeping Emma in town…”

“It doesn’t need to be anything major, guys.” David replied. “Just… maybe get Mary Margaret to visit the animal shelter or something. Or make up something to get me to visit wherever she works. I’m sure just a nudge to get us to spend time together should work a treat, right?” He looked towards Nova with excitement, and she gave a small nod.

“Once they meet and start spending time together, it should be enough, from what I know of true loves.” She replied, and David’s grin got wider. He turned back to Belle and Gold, hands raised in a pleading gesture.

“Please say you’ll help get us together? Please?”

Belle looked at Gold, and they nodded in unison.

“Far be it for us to deny the course of true love.” Gold said, and David tackled the two of them in an unexpected hug.


	16. Old unhappy unions

The process of returning David to his body was surprisingly easy; Gold watched passively as David planted a gentle kiss to Mary Margaret’s forehead before climbing on the bed, Nova sending a pulse of light through both figures on the bed before only the body was left, the monitors by the bedside registering a tiny jump in the heart rate but no other sign of what had happened.

“It’s going to take him a while to settle back into his body, even to wake up. He certainly isn’t going anywhere tonight, so I suggest the two of you get back to Henry for now.” Nova said, watching as Mary Margaret finished reading to David and left the room.

“Will we get notification when he wakes?” Belle asked the question on his lips a second before he was going to open his mouth. Nova nodded in reply, before motioning for them to leave. By silent agreement they decided to walk back to Regina and Henry’s house, the quiet sounds of the nighttime and silent companionship giving them both time to process what had happened a scant few minutes before.

He didn’t begrudge David’s choice, not at all; if you had an opportunity to spend your life with your true love, you should go for it, he thought. Too bad his own true love hadn’t seemed to ever show up- Milah certainly hadn’t fit the bill, and being dead hadn’t given him many opportunities to find someone to share his life with happily. David’s impending memory loss, however, would be a problem in bringing the two together, unless Mary Margaret interacted with him significantly before he went back to his wife. He wasn’t sure when he had entered that hospital what he wanted the outcome for David to be, having seen the man’s estranged wife was quite happy without him, but given the man now had a chance, he was optimistic David would be able to find happiness.

Assuming he and Belle managed to push him into the path of Henry’s school teacher, that is.

Belle startled him out of his musings when she started to speak, her words unexpected but quiet enough not to disturb the peaceful feeling of the evening.

“I wonder… was that why we were both assigned to Henry?”

He turned to examine her expression. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… the note the Boss left on the file. ‘For the sake of true love’. It meant we were both in the right place to learn of David and Mary Margaret’s potential and thus be able to help them.”

He scoffed. “I’m sure that could have been done without assigning us both to one charge, but I’ll give the Boss the benefit of the doubt. He rarely gives messages which only have one meaning.”

“Oh? Do you know of any other pairs of true loves within the bounds of Storybrooke, then?”

He shook his head. “Other than Nova and Leroy, no, but that one can only be solved by the passage of time.”

She sighed. “There must have been something we’ve missed, then. I mean, how often do people manage to find their true loves in their lifetimes?”

He shrugged, mind wandering back through his remarkably unromantic past. “I never found mine. My wife and I certainly weren’t, and at the time I died I had more issues to worry about, like making sure my son was safe.”

“Yes, but how old were you when you died? You would have been quite young-” her fingers moved as if she was counting.

“I was 33. I’m not sure that counts as ‘young’.”

She frowned at the interruption, but continued. “33 isn’t that old- if you’d lived then you might have had another 50 or so years of life.”

“Oh, and you think I’d have found someone as a 33 year old divorcee with a teenage son?” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “Not to mention the broken nose and the awful personality and general aura of-”

His words were stopped by her hand slapping his arm.

“Hey, you wouldn’t have found anyone by constantly talking yourself down, Gold! You’re not as awful as you seem to think you are, you know.”

He gave a weak laugh, mind racing back to memory after memory after memory of his former wife’s biting words. “No, I’m awful. I just don’t kid myself about it like most of the rest of the world seems to about themselves.” His voice was bitter, head dropped as the cruel words echoed around his head again.

He almost didn’t notice when Belle stepped in front of him, stopping his footsteps, a hand under his chin forcing him to face her.

“You know that’s not true, Gold. What happened to make you think that that could ever be true?”

His eyes met hers, the blue thankfully so different from the amber of his former wife’s eyes to allow him to speak.

“My wife.” He replied quietly, and moved back and away from Belle before she could reply. She stood where he had left her for a moment, but as he stormed off he heard her follow after a few seconds. They walked in silence for a few more seconds before she spoke again, and he almost regretted saying anything until her voice wound through the air.

“Whatever she said… it isn’t true. From what I know of you, you are a loner but a kind man. You care a lot for those you love but hold both your love and your fear and your anger deep inside to churn around and around with no release. It doesn’t make you a bad person, just a private one, but it never helps when there’s something that makes you feel hurt and you keep it in with no chance to let it out.”

He sighed. “I only stayed with her for my son’s sake. Milah had a sharp tongue and fire in her soul, cutting and cutting and cutting words. I tried not to let them get to me but it’s… it’s…”

“It’s hard. I know.” She replied quietly. “I was bullied at school for spending all my time in the library reading; I still remember some of what they would call me. It must be even worse if it was from your wife.”

He nodded, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “Yep. I was almost over the moon when she ran off with Killian, if it weren’t for the fact she got custody of Bae. And then I died.”

She sighed. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you, Gold. You didn’t deserve a loveless marriage or cruelty or to lose your son like that.”

He shrugged in response. “I don’t think life runs of of what we deserve or didn’t deserve. Everyone tries their best to be happy, to find love or some sort of fulfillment. It just wasn’t where I ended up.”

“Don’t say that.” Belle said. “The Boss certainly isn’t trying to work on a ‘deserving or not’ basis. You may have found happiness, you may have found your true love.”

“Well, there’s a fat chance of that happening now, isn’t there? I don’t know if you haven’t noticed, but the-”

“The dating scene on this side of things is dead, yes, I noticed. I never met my true love either.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What about that Gavin kid you were dating?”

“You knew about that?”

“It’s a small town, and I tend to keep up with the gossip where I can, even if it’s the boring stuff about whose kids are dating who.”

She shrugged. “We were never that close. I was mostly going out with him so the other boys would leave me alone and stop trying to ask me out; he needed a cover so he could keep dating Billy, my next door neighbor, without his parents knowing. He was too into sports for my tastes, but not as bad as some of them.”

He frowned as they walked up the path to the Mayor’s house. “You should never need to date someone you don’t want to just to protect yourself, Belle.”

She gave a sad laugh. “Yeah, if you could just get that message across to everyone at high school somehow…”

“Hmm… I have some contacts. I could take out an hour or two, a convenient favour here and there could work wonders…”

She laughed. “Maybe after we’ve finished making sure Emma stays in town, David and Mary Margaret fall in love, and Henry doesn’t run away again.”

“You’re on.” He said, a smile creeping across his face as they made their way inside.

**Author's Note:**

> This work is open to prompts- find me on tumblr at hedwighood. All comments and kudos appreciated :-)


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